A star in her eye
by isnt-that-wizard
Summary: Star is back travelling with the Doctor after Clara's death, along with her old friend, Marcella. Times have changed can they still be friends? Whats in store for the trio with Bill Potts. And can Missy really turn good? Seventh in the Starlight saga
1. The pilot

**And were back!**

 **Star, my main oc, is currently in her 6th regeneration, taller than before with long black hair falling in loose curls over her shoulders with icy blue eyes. her usual attire is usually a fitted black top with a leather jacket over the top with bigger-on-the-inside pockets, black leather pants and chunky black knee high laced boots. I imagine her to look similar to Elizabeth Gillies and at the end of the last series was around 620 years old, although she has given up keeping track.**

 **My new oc, Marcella, Star childhood friend, is also in her 6th regeneration, a tall dark girl with short curly hair with bright green eyes. Typically dressed in a white button up shirt with black pants with boots, with a long red trench coat, a brown belt around her waist over the coat. I see her similar to Kiersey Clemons.**

A **s always I don't own Doctor Who.**

 ** _"Italics"=_ Gallifreyan**

 _ **'Italics'= Telepathy.**_

"I made an oath!" the Doctor huffed as he finished working on the vault door that was now set up in the basement of St Luke's University in Bristol. The vault containing a currently unconscious, but yet, still alive, Missy.

"She's gonna kill you when you go and check on her," Star smirked.

While she and Marcella had been dealing with the Shadow Kin the Doctor had gotten a call from some religion of some kind from god knows where which he had gone and answered to. The man having found Missy and sentenced her to death for her crimes, which the Doctor knew and still went, him having been the one to kill her. Though his compassion had caused him to save her, rewiring the death machine and sending Missy unconscious after she promised that she'd be good if he just let her live. Apparently she had cried.

And so instead of being dead she was locked up in the vault for 1000 years to try and stop her raging murderous rampage across the universe and try to be good.

"You do you, Doctor," Marcella shook her head, "you do you."

"Shut up." He murmured.

"So this is reasons to avoid America then?" Star guessed.

"Yeah."

"So if you're not planning to leave her for the next 1000 years." Star began, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she watched him type the code.

"Yes, you can nip of for a trip yourselves." He rolled his eyes.

Star pumped a fist in the air in victory, turning to Marcella, grinning, "Disneyland?"

~.~

Star sulked as she led one of the young women who worked at St Luke's University in the Doctor's office, quite lovely she was, dark skin and quite large dark Afro hair. They had been here for quite a while now, almost 70 years now. Keeping a low profile, the Doctor taking the job of the physics professor, getting an office and everything. They had a few quite adventures during the nights but he never missed a lecture.

Which meant during the day the TARDIS was free and so Star and Marcella tended to nip out often. Nowhere too far or dangerous. It was mostly Star just showing Marcella the planet.

She didn't quite understand how she had agreed to lead the young Bill Potts to his office.

"I'll go get him," she smiled, "take a seat."

"Er thanks." Bill muttered sitting at the desk, looking around the room as Star disappeared into a side room.

It was quite a decent size office, big enough for the TARDIS to fit comfortably in the corner, even if the Doctor did leave an out of order sigh on it.

And the desk, he had a photo on River Song sat before him, as well as her niece Susan. He also had a recent one of her and Marcella on a distant planet, a selfie Star had taken on one of their trips with her grinning with her arm over a grumpy looking Marcella's shoulders.

"Chip girl is here," Star remarked as the Doctor stood in the small side room of the office, more like a bedroom really not they he ever slept in there, his guitar out.

"Chip girl?" He frowned at her.

"Bill. Bill Potts. You told me to get her up here. You better not have sent me down for no reason." She crossed her arms.

"Oh, Bill," he nodded, playing a cord on the guitar, "right, yes. Good."

"Where's Mars?"

"TARDIS."

"Damn." She pouted. Bill was between her and the TARDIS and with Bill there she couldn't exactly just walk into the random blue box that was sat there. It would just look weird.

"You can cope on your own for 10 minutes," he rolled his eyes heading out into the office, "Potts?" He confirmed with the woman, "Bill Potts."

She nodded, "You wanted to see me."

"Er, you're not a student at this university."

"Nah, I work in the canteen."

"Yeah, but you come to my lectures."

"No, I don't." She shook her head, "I never do that."

"I've seen you. Star," he nodded to her as she leaned against the TARDIS, planning to enter as soon as Bill left. "You've fed her chips."

"We're not students either. So we won't tell. Promise." She wanted to assure her that she never broke her promises. But sometimes her keeping her promises only ended in people dying. A promise to people that no harm would come to them except by her own hands. Look where that got Clara.

"Love your lectures." Bill gushed, knowing she was caught out, she had served Star chips multiple times and she was usually with another pretty girl in a red coat, "They're totally awesome."

"Why'd you come to my lectures when you're not a student?" He asked her, taking the seat as his desk, intertwining his fingers.

"Ok, so my first day here, in the canteen, I was on chips." She began to explain, "There was this girl. Student. Beautiful. Like a model, only with talking and thinking. She looked at you and you perved. Every time, automatic, like physics. Eye contact, perversion. So I gave her extra chips. Every time, extra chips. Like a reward for all the perversion. Every day, got myself on chips, rewarded her. Then finally, finally, she looked at me, like she'd noticed, actually noticed, all the extra chips. Do you know what I realised? She was fat. I'd fatted her. But that's life, innit? Beauty or chips. I like chips. So did she. So that's ok."

"That's not an explanation," Star remarked, "that's just you gushing about a crush."

"Yeah," she winced lightly, "I was hoping something would develop. What's that?" She nodded to the TARDIS behind Star, "A police telephone box? Did you build it from a kit?"

"No, it came like that." The Doctor replied.

"Then how did you get it in here? The door's too small and so are the windows."

"I had the window and a part of the wall taken out and it was lifted in."

"What, with a crane?"

"Yeah, with a crane. It's heavier than it looks. Why do you keep coming to my lectures?"

"Because I like them." She shrugged, "Everybody likes them. They're amazing. Why me?"

"Why you what?" He countered.

"Well, plenty of people come to your lectures that aren't supposed to. Why pick on me?"

"Well, Star noticed you and so did I."

"Yeah, but why me?"

"Well, most people when they don't understand something, they frown. You smile."

"I'll tell you what I don't understand." Bill frowned instead of smiling, "You've been lecturing here for a long time. Like, 50 years, some people say. Nabeela in the office says over 70..."

"Yeah, and you're thinking," the Doctor smiled, "Well, he doesn't look old enough."

Star looked away at that painful reminder, recalling how he had compared him and Clara to looking the same age when they first met Danny Pink.

"No." Bill shook her head, "I'm wondering what you're supposed to be lecturing on. It's like the university let you do whatever you like. One time, you were going to give a lecture on quantum physics. You talked about poetry."

"Poetry, physics, same thing."

"How is it the same?"

"Because of the rhymes."

"What are you doing at this university, anyway?" Star cut in, another painful reminder that Clara Oswald was still in the Doctors head. Poetry was something learnt in an English class. Clara had been the English teacher. It was bad enough he was teaching, let alone teaching something Clara had no doubt taught someone.

"I've always wanted to come here," she murmured. Back when she had been doing her exams she had known this was the uni she wanted to study at but she just couldn't afford it, even with the student loans, never would have been able to pay them back. Getting the job inside was the best she could do.

"Not to serve chips, though?" Star eyed her.

"So, anyway, am I nearly done?" Bill huffed, not liking how much they were trying to peek into her personal life.

"Do you want it to be?" The Doctor countered.

She stood up and moved to the door, "see ya."

"If you ever get less than a first then I stop immediately." He called, shifting through her assignments, the ones she had completed and handed in despite not being a student and having no need to do so.

"You what?" She paused and frowned at him.

"A first, every time." He held up her rather excellent scores, "Or I stop immediately."

"Stop what?"

"Being your personal tutor." He beamed at her.

"But I'm not a student. I'm not part of the university. I never even applied."

"We'll sort all that out later." He waved her off.

"You kinda have to sort that out earlier." If he was going to tutor her, something she would actually quite like, then he needed to sort that out. If he got caught tutoring her when she only served out the chip they'd both be in big trouble, but if he spoke to the governors soon it wouldn't be as bad and they'd probably enroll her.

"Leave it with me. I'm assuming that it's a yes."

"Yes!" She laughed.

"I'll see you at 6pm every weekday. I don't care who's dying, never, ever be late. I'm very particular about time."

"Really?" Star looked at him, "even though you were late for your own wedding?"

He sighed heavily, "so she did tell you that story did she?"

"I can't believe mother still agreed to marry you," Star shook her head, disappearing into the TARDIS.

"Oh, er." Bill blinked as she watched Star head in the box, a thought hitting her stopping her from leaving, "People just call you the Doctor? What do I call you?"

"The Doctor." He answered.

"But Doctor's not a name. I can't just call you Doctor. Doctor what?"

"Exactly," he nodded, ushering her out, "6pm sharp." and he shut the door on her rolling his eyes at how Star couldn't have waited until she was out to go and find Marcella. Honestly.

~.~

"Light," the Doctor handed a small lantern to Star as she, the Doctor and Marcella stood in the dark cellar of the university in the darkness, before a large vault door.

She rolled her eyes and left it to hover in the air before them for a better light. "So Bill..."

"Stop it," he muttered.

"You're tutoring her."

"So?"

"So why are you getting involved in her life if you so badly refuse to take on another companion."

"I'm just teaching her."

"Turn," Marcella cut in before the conversation could turn dark.

"What?" He glanced at her.

"Turn and press."

"Yes, I know." He pulled out the sonic, using it on the door when there was a loud clatter from behind them.

They turned but couldn't see anyone in their sight, "the door upstairs," the Doctor remarked to Star quietly, "how did you set the security?"

"You said you were doing that." She countered.

"No, I said I wanted you to set the security."

"No. You said you were doing it."

"So there's no security?"

"Share the blame?" She suggested.

"Deal." He nodded.

"Hold on," Marcella shook her head, "does that mean there is no security and anyone can walk down here?"

"To be fair who's going to come down here?" Star countered, "besides Bill."

Because clearly who else could it had been, the woman had been in the Doctors office every night for a few weeks now and could see how much of an odd trio they were. Star and Marcella were always walking in and out of the TARDIS and as Bill didn't know just how big the TARDIS was must have thought it was pretty weird. Seen them running through the grounds and decided to follow them.

"You know it is just a door and lock, right?" Marcella confirmed, just a simple door and lock and passcode they made to look a lot more difficult than it actually was. "You can pick a lock and guess a passcode."

"You haven't guessed the passcode." Star pointed out.

"I'd rather not go in alone if I'm honest."

"Scared of the Queen of Evil." she teased.

"This is not any of my concern nor my business."

Whatever the Doctor was hoping to achieve in the next 900 years was nothing to do with her.

~.~

"Open it," Star grinned, thrusting the blue and gold wrapped box in Marcella's arms. It was Christmas at the university now, the Doctor was still teaching Bill. Hopefully it would actually be a quiet Christmas, which would be a first. "You'll love it."

"Is this my Christmas present?" She asked.

"I know it's a human holiday and you don't really care about it..."

"You do."

"I know," she rolled her eyes at Marcella's small interruption, "still. It's a Christmas present cuz I celebrate it as it's also to make up for all those birthdays I've missed. Open it!"

Marcella smiled at Stars excitement as she removed the golden bow and carefully unwrapped the small black box, removing the lid to see the jar, "oh!" Her smile widened as she held up the marbled candle. "Thank you."

"Ah, you haven't seen the best bit!" She pulled out a small lighter from her jacket pocket and lit the candle, instead of the usual red flame, the flame was rich purple and smelt like freshly cut grass, "the flame changes colour depending on your emotions and the smell," she inhaled sharply, "it's never the same twice."

"It's wonderful," Marcella breathed, her eyes reflecting the purple flame as she stared at it, "I have something for you too."

"Really?" Star blinked.

She nodded, blowing out the candle and setting it down as she led Star out of the console room and down to her room where she picked up a simple box, "I know how you love purple."

"Something that never changes even in death," she nodded.

"But you're in black and leather and it's just..."

"To dark?" She guessed. Everyone said that, or called her goth.

"Exactly! And I saw this a while ago. And I just thought of you."

"Oh," Star smiled at the purple fabric Marcella held up to her.

How she knew her so well after all these years was just impossible.

~.~

"What do you think?" Star burst out of the TARDIS and out into the office where the Doctor got the Christmas crackers out, Bill had invited herself to Christmas dinner with them, well, she had suggested it and the Doctor had agreed before he realised what she had said and it had been too late to say no. So the woman was coming round in a few minutes.

And so as soon as she had been given the dress she had worn the dress, just to impress Marcella and ensure she knew she loved it. She really did love it.

A corseted dress, a deep purple, with long draping bell-like sleeves that reached a few inches above her knees with black lace detailing around the waist and neckline, still in her usual boots, and her jacket which was now sleeveless to keep the dresses sleeves loose and flowing.

It was just so her style!

He blinked as he looked over at her, Marcella smiling softly as she stepped out and shut the door behind her. He frowned, there was something different, a big difference that if he didn't catch, he would never let it down.

"You're back in purple!" He gasped, pulling her into a tight hug. Even he had missed the purple, the leather was just so not his shining star but of course she still had the leather jacket, this version just sleeveless for the dress sleeves. "Thank you," he mouthed to Marcella only to get whacked in the face by the sleeves.

"I'm going to enjoy this!" Star smirked.

"Sorry," Marcella mouthed behind Stars back, wincing. She hadn't thought that the loose sleeves could be made as a weapon against him.

Oops.

~.~

"It's a rug." The Doctor stated as he took the gift Bill had given him when she had arrived. The four sitting around the desk with drinks and snacks, the Doctor in his chair, Bill opposite with Star and Marcella opposite each other at the narrower ends of the desk, each with a cracker hat on their head, "Haven't got you anything."

"It's ok, it was cheap." Bill waved him off, "it's just a sort of thank you."

"Oh," he blinked before frowning as he turned to Star, "we're no longer doing presents, are we?"

"Why?" She quickly gulped her drink, "did you get me something?"

"No..."

"Oh thank god. I didn't get you anything either."

"Good."

 _'How about you promise not to die at Christmas again.'_ She suggested in his mind.

 _'Deal.'_ He nodded.

"Going anywhere for Christmas?" Bill asked. They were certainly an odd bunch. The Doctor was a physics lecturer who ended up talking about poetry and Star was his daughter who didn't even go to the university just lived in his room and took the food and her friend Marcella who was hardly ever around when she was. And then there was that box in the corner. The box that the two tended to hide away in and then come back out a few hours later. She dare not speak aloud of what they were doing in there in the dark. What family didn't do Christmas present when they celebrated the holiday?

"We never go anywhere." The Doctor shrugged.

"That's not true. You go places, I can tell. My mum always said, 'With some people you can smell the wind in their clothes.'"

"Oh. She sounds nice."

"She died when I was a baby." Bill murmured looking down at that.

"Oh."

"I lost mine when I was young too," Marcella offered her a small supportive smile.

"I ended on bad terms when mine was killed," Star added, always wanted to one up everyone else. She caught the Doctors gaze in the corner of her eyes and refused to explain to him. It had been far too long since she had mentioned the family and their deaths. She knew why, he thought that saying it aloud meant they were really gone, which was true, but ignoring it was so disrespectful. And now she had Marcella on her side, well, it had been Marcella who said that the talking could help. And talking to someone who knew her family was far better than the humans who couldn't even imagine what they had all seen and done. "If she died when you were a baby," she frowned at Bill, munching on a biscuit, "when did she say that?"

"In my head." Bill admitted, "I'm supposed to look like her, but I don't really know. There's hardly any photographs. She hated having her picture taken. But if someone's gone, do pictures really help?"

~.~

"Right on time!" Star cheered from the chair in the corner, her nose in a book as Bill walked in as the clock chimed 6pm.

"Happy new term!" Bill grinned.

"With you in a moment." The Doctor called from the side room.

"You said you needed a crane to lift your box." Bill mused, noticing the rug she had gotten them for Christmas was partly under the TARDIS.

"Reading," Star called, ignoring her.

They had, after Bill had left, gone back in time and managed to persuade Bills mother to have a few photos taken back when she was Bills age. People were right, she really did look like her mother. A bit like she did, as much as she was so alike the Doctor personality wise, by appearance she was her mother, every regeneration was very similar to her mother when she was in the number. She never made it to number 6. And now every future body of hers would just be a reminder of what her mother could look like if she was alive. But no, the stupid Cybermen couldn't allow her that, could they?

"Sorry, what did you say?" The Doctor stepped into the room, clapping his hands together, "right, new term new topic."

~.~

"And so I was chained to the wall, the Doctor in the Pandorica, everyone gone and frozen from the end of the universe when Rory arrives and..." Star came to an abrupt halt from her story to Marcella, the pair curled up in the window sill, as the door opened and Bill entered, looking upset.

The Doctor looked up from his marking as the room fell silent only to see Bill there, "what's wrong?" He asked her.

She took a deep breath as she began to explain about Heather, a young woman with a star in her eyes from a defect. How she had shown her a puddle near the construction site that had been there for months, said there was something wrong with it. How she had gone to see her earlier, found her looking at the puddle but when she had joined her she was gone, "She said it was a defect, but what kind of defect puts a star in your eye? But that doesn't even matter because she was right. There was something wrong when you looked in the puddle. That was definitely my face. I see my face all the time. I've never liked it, it's all over the place. It's always doing expressions when I'm trying to be enigmatic…"

Star tugged Marcella off after the Doctor as he jumped up and ran out of the room to find the puddle himself. They squeezed though the fence and over to the puddle, peering into it.

"Why do you run like that?" Bill panted as she caught up having followed them, seen them running from the window.

"Like what?" He frowned.

"Like a penguin with its arse on fire."

"Ergonomics." The Doctor replied as Star snorted at the woman's words, "That's my face, yeah?"

"You seem a bit flexible on the subject."

"Oh, you've no idea."

"Maybe it's got to do with that thing in her eye." Bill suggested.

"How?" Marcella glanced at her.

"Maybe she's like, affected by something."

"By what?"

"I don't know." She huffed at the questions, "Look, I know you know lots of stuff about, well, basically everything, but do you know any sci-fi?"

"Oh, just a little." Star shrugged her off.

The Doctor straightened to meet her gaze, "Go on."

"Well, what if she's possessed." Bill guessed, "Something like that."

"Possessed by what?" Marcella scoffed.

"I don't know. I saw this thing on Netflix. Lizards in people's brains."

"Right." The Doctor nodded slowly, "So, you meet a girl with a discoloured iris and your first thought is she might have a lizard in her brain? I can see I'm going to have to up my game."

"Oh." Stars eyes widened as she realised what was wrong with the puddle.

"What?"

"Yeah?" Marcella looked at her and back at the puddle, "what...oh."

"What is it?" Bill looked between them, "what?"

"Oh, I get it." The Doctor remarked, seeing it now, "I see it. It was easy for your friend because of her eye."

"What, because it gives her special powers?"

"No!" Star shook her head, "because her face isn't symmetrical. It's like eyebrows, they're sisters not twins. But you barely notice the difference. But! If you stare long enough..."

"You never look away from the mirror." Marcella agreed.

"Vanity." She shrugged.

"Yes! Look into the puddle." The Doctor stepped back to give Bill a better look at her reflection, "Your face looks wrong, because it looks right. What's the one thing you never see when you look at a reflection? Your face. You never see your face the right way round. Right. Look for a freckle or a funny tooth. Something that's not symmetrical."

"My badge!" Bill gasped, hand over the badge on her jacket seeing it wasn't on the side it should have been.

"See, your friend saw it straightaway because of her eye."

"But, it's moving like a reflection."

"It's not reflecting you. It's mimicking you. There's something in the water pretending to be you." He pulled out a small test tube, scooping the liquid inside for testing later. "Of course. It isn't water. Now what are these? Let's have a look."

"What are they?" Bill eyed the small scorch marks dotted around near the puddle.

"Scorch marks. Interesting. Right, you. Let's get you on the bus."

"The what? The bus?"

"Tutorial's over, take the night off. It's all cancelled. Go and be a proper student. Texts, snogging, a vegan wrap."

"But what about the puddle?" She questioned.

"Oh, it's just some freak optical effect. I'm bored already."

"And we've got more Disney movies to watch," Star agreed, linking her arm though Marcella and already heading back. They were just so good and she wanted to share them with Marcella. Was that so bad?

~.~

Star looked up sharply as the door burst open, the Doctor looking up from where they analysed the liquid from the puddle that night.

"Dude!" Star shouted as the woman slammed the door behind her, pulling a chair under the handle to jam it.

"Hello, Bill." The Doctor sighed his greeting, Bill tended to only knock if she was here for a tutoring lesson, any other time she tended to just barge in, calling out for one of them to let them know she was there. If all three were in the TARDIS then one had to pretend the other two weren't in and stay inside until she left. The Doctor still didn't want Bill to know anything.

The woman gasped, jumping back as water seeping under the door.

"What's that?"

"I'll tell you what it isn't." Bill gasped, "It isn't a freak optical effect." A young woman began to take form before them from the liquid, a star defect in one of her eyes, "And it's following me."

"The friend?" Star asked, noticing the star defect.

"I'll tell you what," the Doctor murmured, slowly standing and moving back to the TARDIS, "let's just pop into my box."

"Your box?" Bill cried, "What good is getting in your box going to do?"

"What an extraordinarily long and involved answer this is going to be." He muttered, tugging her inside after Star and shutting the doors outside one the girl they could to be assume to be Heather. The Doctor opened the door again to remove the Out of Order sign that had been hanging over the doors since they first arrived at the university.

"How do we stop it getting in?" Bill hissed, peeking through the windows in the door, unaware how big the room really was, "We're trapped in here!"

"Nothing gets through these doors." The Doctor assured her, removing his jacket and changing into the red velvet that had been left hanging on the coat rack.

"But they're made of wood. They've got windows!"

"This is going to take forever," Star sighed moving and tossing her jacket over the railing as the Doctor powered the room up for light. Bill still staring out the windows.

"Look, this is all mad, I know, but that's the girl I told you about. Heather. Only I don't think it's really her. I know this is hard to believe. I know you're not exactly sci-fi people..." she trailed as she finally turned around to see just how much bigger on the inside the room was.

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space. TARDIS for short." The Doctor smiled, "You're safe in here. You're safe in here and you always will be. Any questions?"

"Is this a knock-through?"

"Well, in a way, yes."

"Look at this place. It's like a..."

"Spaceship." The Doctor finished for her.

"Kitchen." Bill said instead.

"I'd say that was new but someone already asked if there was a kitchen." Star mumbled, Clara loved making soufflés, couldn't do them but loved to make them.

"Someone did?" The Doctor frowned at her.

She swallowed thickly. The painful reminder that because of her stupid selfish reasons he could no longer remember Clara Oswald.

"A really posh kitchen," Bill continued, "all metal. What happened with the doors, though? Did you run out of money?"

"What you are standing in is a technological marvel." The Doctor told her, "It is science beyond magic. This is the gateway to everything that ever was, or ever can be."

"Can I use the toilet?" Bill asked.

Star blinked, "that is a new one."

"I've had a fright. I need the toilet."

"It's down there," the Doctor pointed down the stairs, "first right, second left, past the macaroon dispenser."

"Thanks." She muttered hurrying down.

"Oh." Marcella blinked as she bumped into Bill on her way up, "hello." She greeted continuing up tossing a macaroon in her mouth. The reason for the dispenser. Star had shown Marcella the Eiffel Tower and they had ended up in a sweet shop in Paris, testing out the macaroons finding out Marcella seemed fond of them, hence why Star had put in a macaroon dispenser. "Finally let her in then?" She called to the Doctor.

He rolled his eyes, "She's just passing through. She wants to use the toilet."

He didn't noticed the look the Time Ladies shared, nor Stars raising eyebrows.

The TARDIS suddenly shuddered, "what was that?" Star rushed to the scanner only to see Heather dripping on the scanner.

"We have an incursion on campus. Extra-terrestrial. We're under attack." The Doctor raced around the console, "Let's move."

"Oh, my God!" Bill cried as Marcella raced over, joining the father and daughter at the console to send them off, "This isn't just a room, is it?"

"What made that obvious?" Marcella muttered.

"This is a lift!"

Star pulled down a lever, landing them in the basement before the fault, "coming?" She asked, grabbing her jacket again and heading out.

"No interference here," the Doctor remarked, checking the vault doors, "as far as I can see. The vault's secure."

"So your box can move?" Bill breathed looking around the cellar in shock at actually having moved from the office on the third floor to the cellar down below, "It can go anywhere it likes? Anywhere at all, in the whole university?"

The Doctor flashed the sonic at the vault doors, "Is it my imagination, or is this taking longer than normal?" He asked quietly.

"Far too long." Star agreed just as quiet. Most people said it was bigger on the inside as soon as they saw the room.

"Hang on." Bill stared at the TARDIS, "The room's still inside the box. This isn't a knock-through."

"No."

"It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside!" She shouted.

"Boom! We got there!" Star grinned high-fiving the Doctor.

"Oh my god..." Marcella mumbled.

"Shut up!" Star spun to her, "its fun and tradition."

"How is that possible?" Bill asked, "How do you do that?"

"First imagine a big box in a smaller box," Marcella said, on the verge of sarcasm.

"Ok." Bill nodded, imagining it.

"Then build it."

"Grow." Star corrected, getting them both to look at her, "I'm sorry but TARDISes are alive and are grown on the farms." Marcella scoffed, "she is alive!"

"Can we shut up, please?" The Doctor cut in "Busy, busy. I need to know if there's any interest in what's inside this vault."

"Why, what's inside it?" Bill asked.

"Something I don't want anyone being too curious about."

"So you put it in the middle of a university?"

"Humans," Marcella shrugged, "they aren't going to get inside."

"Either the creature came here specifically for what's in here, or it's just a coincidence." The Doctor continued.

"It's just a coincidence." The three girls agreed.

"Well, we can't know that for sure."

"Coincidence," Star half sang.

"Yeah, we can." Bill agreed, "It was here for ages before it did anything. If it had work to do, why would it lie around in a puddle?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's a student?"

"Bantering," Star whispered, "which you said you hate."

"I do." He looked at her, "banter and karaoke."

"We should go back to the TARDIS," Marcella cut in urgently.

Star spun to her at that to see liquid pouring down the cellar steps, slowly forming into Heather again.

"What if it attacks us?" She whispered.

"Well, that's the good news." The Doctor reasoned, keeping his gaze on the young woman as they slowly backed towards the TARDIS, "It means it's not interested in what's inside the vault. It just wants to kill us."

"That's not good news." She looked unamused.

"Run!" He shouted, the group running in as Heather screamed, the doors slamming shut on their own behind them.

"Ow!" Marcella cried as she landed on her front of the floor before the doors, Star flopped on top of her. "Seriously?"

"I tripped!" She defended rolling over and onto the floor.

"You tripped and pushed me in the TARDIS?" She repeated in disbelieve.

"...yes."

She raised a single eyebrow, "really? Because I think that was just trying to be heroic and get me out of harms way." She smirked.

"Well you'd be wrong, so there..." she folded her arms, tongue sticking out at her point made, conversation over.

"It's not interested in the vault, it's chasing us." The Doctor remarked, moving between them to the console, sending them off again, "Let's give it a proper challenge. Let's see how far she's prepared to go."

"But what about my friend?" Bill questioned, "What about Heather? Can you save her?"

"First things first. Let's see if we can survive her." He headed out into the sunshine.

"Oh," Star frowned as they stepped out onto a harbour, the humans passing ignoring the blue box that had randomly appeared, laughing in the sea and sunbathing on the beach, seagulls trying to grab people's chips and ice cream.

"But..." Bill spun around as she followed them out, staring at the new place they had arrived.

"Yes." The Doctor nodded.

"We've moved again."

"We have."

"It was night."

"Yep."

"Now it's day."

"Definitely day."

"Oh, my God!" Her eyes widened as she caught on, "Have we travelled in time?"

"No, silly!" Star scoffed, "we're in Australia." She gestured to the Sydney Opera House behind them.

"Ok," she blinked, "now I really need the toilet."

~.~

Star poked her head into the female toilets in a nearby cafe where Bill went to relieve herself to find her splashing her face with water from the sink. "You good?" She asked.

"What do you think?" She glared.

"Do I need to get the cards out?"

"What cards?"

She pulled out a selection of cards from her pockets, shifting through them. "Clearly dad can't come in the ladies room and Marcella isn't good at things like this but I've got these!" She grinned as she held the cards up.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

She glared slightly at her, "I haven't find the card."

"Can I ask anyway?"

She lowered the cards, "ok."

"Are you from space?"

Oh, how she could get so sassy right now, "No one's from space."

"Yeah, but, you're not from this planet, though, are you?"

"I have cards on how to deal with humans, what do you think?" She countered.

"Doesn't make sense, then." She shook her head.

"What doesn't?"

"TARDIS. If you're from another planet, why would you name your box in English? Those initials wouldn't work in any other language!"

"It's not a question commonly asked," she mumbled, pocketing the cards seeing they weren't much help.

"It looks like a phone box." She pointed out.

"It's a disguise. It's a disguise but it got stuck in the first trip. Dads fault."

Bill laughed at that. That was certainly something very like that Doctor. Her grin faded as she noticing the water gurgling in the sink, "Star..."

"Yup, time to go." She grabbed her hand and pulled her out, having noticed that too.

"She followed?" Marcella gasped as Star pulled her along with her free hand and out the cafe.

"Out, out!" The Doctor yelled behind them, "Everybody out! Shark attack!"

No one moved until Heather stepped out, then everyone screamed and fled at the sight of her.

"Ok," the Doctor sighed as they ran back into the TARDIS, dematerialising again.

"Where are we going?" Bill gasped, clinging to the console from the bumpy rose.

"As far as we can." The Doctor replied, "She made Australia in a minute. Let's see what she can really do."

"Is it wise to leave earth with the vault unguarded?" Marcella hesitantly called.

"Oh, we're fine. If there's any trouble, I'll get a message on this." He flashed the psychic paper. "Let's see how long it takes her to get here."

"Where are we?" Bill breathed as the TARDIS landed with a thud.

"Other end of the universe. 23 million years in the future." He grinned at her shocked expression, "Oh, yes, it's a time machine too."

They stepped out onto a rocky planet, carved arches with glittering crystals and a pale purple sky.

"So this is somewhere else?" Bill smiled in delight as she looked around, "This is a different planet? Not Earth, a different one?"

"That's the general idea." The Doctor agreed.

"That's different sky? Is it made of something different? What is sky made of?"

"Lemon drops." He grinned.

"Really?"

"No, but wouldn't that be nice?"

"So childish." Marcella sighed.

"What's the point of being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes," Star recited as the Doctor snapped his fingers at her in his agreement.

Marcella eyed her, almost amused, "So how do we know this water thing is actually dangerous?"

"Everything is."

"Why?" Bill looked at them, "is everything out here evil?"

"Hardly anything is evil," the Doctor commented, "but most things are hungry. Hunger looks very like evil from the wrong end of the cutlery. Or do you think that your bacon sandwich loves you back?"

"Know what it is?" Star wondered.

"Well, there were scorch marks on the concrete where we found it. Could have been left by a shuttlecraft. The puddle, what did it look like? I mean, if that was a car, what would you say that was?"

"An oil leak?" Bill frowned, "So it's space engine oil?"

"Intelligent oil. Super intelligent space oil. No, part of the ship itself. Shape-shifting fluid that becomes anything it needs to be."

"Seriously?" She gaped.

"But it spent ages laying around being a puddle. What changed? Your friend. She looked into it, didn't she? More than once."

"So?"

"Maybe it saw something it needed. What was she like, your friend? What did she want?"

Bill frowned, trying to recalling anything she had been told that could be helpful, "I think she wanted to leave."

"You see?"

"The puddle found a passenger." Marcella stated.

"A left-behind droplet of a liquid spaceship. A single tear drop, alone in a strange world. Then, one day, it finds someone who wants to fly away. Not just a passenger. More than a passenger, it found a pilot, so it ate her."

"So, why is it after Bill?" Star wondered, wandering over the rocks.

"Everything wants, everything needs."

"So..." she hoped down from a rock and looked at him, "you don't know."

"I don't know everything. I don't have it all written down."

"Act like it though."

"So do you."

She shrugged, wandering back over, unable to stand still, much to Marcella's bemusement, "says a lot really doesn't it?"

"A hell of a lot." He agreed.

"It must be looking for something." Marcella reasoned.

"Of course it is, everything is."

"But what?"

"What, in the end, are any of us looking for? We're looking for someone who's looking for us."

"What does that even mean?" Star frowned at him only to hear a scream. The three of them turning to see Bill crouching before a puddle, Heather screaming and trying to pull Bill down.

"Bill!" The Doctor yelled, running to pull her back out of Heathers grip, "Bill! Quick! Back to the TARDIS!" As before Heathers body morphed out of the water, slowly following as they ran and slammed the TARDIS doors. "Ok, it's fast." The Doctor let out a breath as he sent them flying through the vortex, "It time travels. It never gives up. Plan! Basic sterilisation. We're going to run that thing through the deadliest fire in the universe."

"What?" Marcella eyes widened at that.

"How do we do that?" Bill questioned.

"The only way we can." The Doctor answered, "we run through it first."

Star brought the scanner around to see where they were going to get the deadliest fire, she could guess but wanted confirmation, "oh, I hate you."

"No you don't." He countered, "Marcella!" He tossed her a sleek black sonic pen with a red tip, "I want you running interference. Can you do that?"

She let out a breath, "can I say no?"

"No."

"Can I keep this?" It was far more her than those sonic glasses Star gave her.

"Yes. It's yours. That's the point."

She blinked in shock, "you've giving me a sonic over your own daughter."

"Ah, were come to the agreement I don't really need one," Star remarked offhandedly.

"And it's better for her to steal yours over mine."

"Why?" Marcella frowned.

"When does she leave you side?"

"I feel personal victimised right now," Star grumbled, sliding to Marcella's side.

"Where are we?" Bill called.

"Well, we're basically in the middle of a war." The Doctor told her honestly, "No, but, well, it's a war zone, and this is just your basic skirmish. And it's not as bad as it sounds, I promise you. Come on, I've got friends here, old friends."

"He says friends," Star winced as they stepped onto a ship, humans trying to fight Daleks.

"Where are you doing?" The Doctor frowned at Star as she moved to follow Marcella.

"Oh well you said I never leave her side so I'm going with her."

"As long as you don't abandon me here I'm pretty sure I'll be fine," Marcella rolled her eyes.

"I feel like you're doing this in on purpose." The Doctor muttered.

"Pretty much." Star nodded moving to follow Marcella.

"Star," he sighed as she turned around, "no," he warned her seeing her eyes widened, lips pouting, "you cannot do that face anymore! No! It's not working. Alright fine!" He huffed as she grinned, "I'll go and do that, you three stick together." He walked off.

"This way," Star led them down the opposite end of the corridor.

"Are we still in the future?" Bill asked.

"Past." She corrected.

"Doesn't, doesn't look like the past. Are we safe here?"

"Well, that's up to dad, so..."

"Sort of safe." Marcella offered.

"Where are we going?"

"Into the fire." Star answered, leading the way, Marcella's hand in hers as Bill closely followed.

As they walked in the shouts and screams grew louder the closer they got to the main war. Marcella winced, it was alright for Star, she had faced Daleks so often that the fear of them had worn down, with her and the Doctor having defeated them so much but when the last and only time you saw Daleks was during the Time War you still had a teeny tiny bit of fear to them. Not that she would admit that aloud, though.

"Who are those guys?" Bill whispered seeing men in army uniform run past at a cross section, faring large weapons.

"Soldiers," Star shrugged her off, "we're here for the enemy." They ducked behind the wall as a large explosion went off, the men being thrown against the wall themselves from the force, Heather appearing unhurt in the fire, "this way."

"No, this way," Marcella called, turning a corner and leading them down an empty corridor...until a Dalek rolled round before them.

"My way was clear."

"Oops."

"What's that?" Bill stared at the large pepper pot armed with a whisk and a plunger.

"The deadliest fire in the universe." Star sighed. "Hello, Dalek."

"Identify!" The Dalek ordered, "Intruders. Identify!"

"You're going to hate me for this," Star apologised to Marcella.

"Why?" She frowned, getting her answer as Star pulled out her dagger.

"Scan and identify!" Star instructed the Dalek.

"You are the Star."

"Just Star." She muttered under her breath. Every time.

"That was for self-defence," Marcella glared as Star flipped the dagger away in her pocket again, "not as an icon for people to know who you are."

"I know and I'm sorry. You can add it to the least of reason to hate me."

"Killed anyone with it for fun."

"Not for fun...not quite self-defence either...ow!" She winced as Marcella whacked her on the head.

"This is exactly why you need me." She glared. "this is why people want you dead!"

"Yes, I know. Please don't ever leave me again."

"You are an enemy of the Daleks!" The Dalek yelled.

"Yup. And I got my partner in crime with me." Star smirked at it, wrapping an arm over Marcella's shoulder, the girl groaning.

"Exterminate!"

"Not today," she shook her head, ushering Marcella against the wall and dragging Bill with her as the Dalek fired, the energy going straight through Heather as she followed behind them.

"Exterminate." Heather repeated, her voice monotone.

"Exterminate!" The Dalek cried, firing again, distracted by Heather giving the three females a chase to run.

"What was that thing?" Bill gasped as they ran again.

"A Dalek." Star answered.

"A what?"

"A Dalek." Marcella answered this time.

"What's a Dalek?"

"It's just a Dalek." Star waved her off.

"Exterminate!"

Star skidded to a stop before a cross section hearing a Dalek and a second later a bolt shot past, the corridor ahead burning making them turn to see a Dalek slowing to a stop before them.

"Ex...ter...min...ate"

"That's not right," Marcella frowned.

"Not a Dalek," Star shook her head, staring at the eyestalk.

"What? Oh." There was a human eyes with a 5 point star defect in the Daleks eyestalk.

"All Daleks are quarantined," the Doctor raced round the corner having used the sonic to trace them, "er, except that one."

"Not a Dalek." Star repeated, pointing at the eyestalk.

"Heather." Bill breathed.

Water began to pour from inside the Dalek casing, soon dissolving and Heather took its place. "Heather." She repeated.

"Interesting." The Doctor mused from behind Heather making her turn from Bill to look at him, "You had a gun but you didn't use it. Why? You've already taken one person from the Earth. I'm going to let that pass, because I have to, but I will not let you take another. Go. Just go now. Fly away. Why won't you just go?"

Heather simply turned back to Bill.

"Oh, my God." Bill breathed as she recalled the last thing Heather had said, the promise to never leave her, she had kept that promise, "I understand. The last thing she said to me. She promised she wouldn't leave without me."

"Her last conscious thought, driving her across the universe. Never underestimate a crush."

"I won't." Star blinked

"What do we do?" Bill asked, her voice shaking.

"I don't know," the Doctor murmured, "She's not chasing you, she's inviting you. Release her. Release her from her promise."

She nodded, facing Heather, "You have to let me go."

"You have to let me go." Heather repeated.

"I will."

"I will."

"I really liked you." Bill smiled softly.

"I really liked you." Heather reached a hand up to Bill, who reached out to her.

"Bill, no!" Star cried, but they had already clasped their hands together.

"Bill, listen to me." The Doctor called, trying to get through to her, seeing her expression blanking at whatever Heather was showing her, "Whatever she's showing you, whatever she's letting you see. It's a lure, it's a trap. She's making you part of her, and you can never come back."

"I see what you see." Bill whispered, "It's beautiful."

"Bill, let go! You have to let go! She is not human anymore."

"Goodbye, Heather." Bill breathed, voice cracking.

"Goodbye, Bill." Heather returned, for the first time not repeating what Bill had spoken.

Bill let go of Heathers hand as she dissolved into a puddle.

"You all right?" The Doctor asked, pulling her back from the puddle.

"Yeah," she swallowed, "I think so."

"You don't look it." Marcella eyed her.

"She's fine." The Doctor waved her off, turning and heading back to the TARDIS.

Star fluoresced a tissue, wiping away Bills silent tears, "spare her 5 minutes a day. Yeah? Everyday just give 5 minutes remembering, Heather."

"I don't think they're my tears." Bill murmured, wiping the final tear. She felt sad, yes, but she didn't feel herself crying, if Star hadn't pointed them out she wouldn't have even known they were falling.

~.~

"The vault alarm went off," the Doctor explained stepping out of the TARDIS into the office where Bill sat at the desk, "but it was nothing. A student was sick outside and it registered as a biological attack." He laughed.

"I saw it all for a moment." Bill sighed heavily, "Everything out there. She was going to let me fly with her. She was inviting me. I was too scared."

"Scared is good. Scared is rational."

"Scared is a superpower," Star recited, leaning against the TARDIS doors as Marcella worked on better security for the vault, one that wouldn't have any false alarms because some drunk student was sick.

"She wasn't human anymore."

"Will we see her again?" Bill wondered.

"I don't see how." The Doctor shook his head, noticing her sadness and her gaze on the TARDIS, "No, no, no, no. No, no. You have to forget about that."

"I don't see how I can."

"I do." He nodded, moving to stand besides the desk, "Come here, Bill."

She moved before him, "What's up?"

"I just want to fix something." He reached his fingers to her temples but she jerked back.

"Whoa! What are you doing?"

"Don't worry. This won't hurt at all."

"No, but tell me."

"Nothing."

"Yeah?" She scoffed, "because I think you're going to wipe my memory. I'm not stupid, you know. That's the trouble with you. You don't think anyone's ever seen a movie. I know what a mind-wipe looks like!"

"I have no choice." He murmured, "I'm here for a reason, I am in disguise. I have promises to keep. No one can know about me. Or Star, or Marcella."

"This is the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me in my life." She stated firmly, "The only exciting thing!"

"I'm sorry."

"Ok, let me remember just for a week. Just a week. Ok, well, just for tonight. Just one night. Come on, let me have some good dreams for once. Ok." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, "Do what you've got to do. But imagine, just imagine how it would feel if someone did this to you."

He lowered his arms at that. It had been done to him, he couldn't remember Clara Oswald and with everything they had apparently done together he had a lot missing from his memory. He glanced over to Star, seeing her staring, he couldn't quite place her expression, a cross between curiosity if he was really going to wipe her mind and something else, sadness? Regret. He didn't know and hung his head.

"Get out." He told Bill quietly.

She peeked an eye open, "What?"

"You can keep your memories. Now get out before I change my mind! Don't speak, don't start, just run! Now. Go!"

Bill nodded thankful as she ran out of the room.

"Shut up," the Doctor huffed as he gaze fell on the photo of Susan, of her piercing judging gaze, "You shut up as well." He pointed at the photo of River, and then the TARDIS gave a low moan, "Will you all please just leave me alone? I can't do that anymore. I promised!"

"You also promised River that you wouldn't travel alone," Star murmured.

"I'm not travelling at all." He countered.

She nodded slowly, "then why did you change your coat when you let Bill in the TARDIS. From black to velvet. The Doctor-y coat. You changed into it as soon as you let Bill inside and removed the sign. Why?"

He frowned, only now realising that he had removed the sign, the sign that had been over the doors since they came to the university, the same sign he had used back in the junkyard when he first starting travelling the universe. And the same velvet coat he had worn once before back on the Trap Street, "I don't know..."

She smiled sadly, "luckily I do. You let Clara Oswald inside your head. And she never leaves. Look," she took a breath, she shouldn't say right now but it needed to be said, better now than never, "I need my daddy right now. Please..."

The Doctors hearts sank at that. He knew he had important memories missing for his mind but he never thought, not once did it cross his mind that Star was damaged, she was always grinning and smirking not once showing the damage, until now. "I'm sorry." He murmured, hugging her tightly.

"Me too." She held her hand out for him and tugged him inside the TARDIS.

Marcella snapped her book close as she wandered around the upper gallery, to see the pair rushing to the console, tracing Bill meeting her on the grounds, barely minutes after she left the room herself. "What did you say to him?" She asked Star as the man left to speak with Bill outside, closing the doors behind him.

She shrugged, "what he needed to hear."

She sighed, setting the book on the shelf and heading down and over to her, "I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat. She would never be able to go back from this. She had messed up too much, but maybe one day she would be able to forgive herself. Clara kept reassuring her that her death wasn't her fault. But she had indirectly caused it, led them to the events in trap street.

"It's a big universe," the Doctor was telling Bill, "but maybe one day we'll find her."

Bill looked at him and then at the TARDIS before looking back at him, "What changed your mind?"

"Time."

"Time?"

"And Relative Dimension In Space." He snapped his fingers opening the doors, "it means what the hell?"

"Welcome aboard," Star smirked.


	2. Smile

"So?"

"So." The Doctor agreed with Bill.

"What do we do?" She questioned, "Do I have to sit somewhere? Are there seat belts?"

"You've done this before," Marcella pointed out.

"Just a few hours ago," Star added.

"Yeah, but it's proper this time." She reasoned sitting in the small chair besides the outer console besides the stairs, "Oh, that's a mistake."

"What is?" The Doctor frowned.

"You can't reach the controls from the seats. What's the point in that?" She huffed as the Doctor moved to one of the other three chairs around the console seeing for himself, "Or do you have stretchy arms, like Mr Fantastic?"

"Mr Fantastic?" Marcella repeated.

"Superhero," Star replied.

"Oh, I stand, like this." The Doctor continued, moving to stand back before the console.

"You never thought of bringing the seats a bit closer?" Bill asked.

"No, not so far, no."

"Where's the steering wheel?"

"Well, you don't steer the TARDIS, you negotiate with it."

"And you fail miserably!" Star laughed.

He glared at her a moment before looking back at Bill, "The still point between where you want to go and where you need to be, that's where she takes you."

"Which is never where we want to go."

"How much did it cost?" Bill wondered.

"Ah. No idea. Stole it." The Doctor grinned.

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

The atmosphere changed almost immediately. The trio of Time Lords each sharing their own glances at each other, each holding a different expression.

It all came back down to the Hybrid. The Doctor had run from Gallifrey because of the prophecy, the prophecy Star had unintentionally started.

"Was it something I said?" Bill shook her head.

"I felt like it." The Doctor stated, a look at Star. He had decided to leave on his own terms, back then she hadn't done anything to cause him to leave. Maybe it had been that prophecy that had given him the final push to leave, but he was always going to get off that planet.

"What if I steal it from you?" Bill wondered.

"Go on then," Star smirked, "I dare you."

"I don't know how it works." It would be pointless to steal it if she couldn't use it.

"Well, neither did I." The Doctor agreed.

"Do," Marcella corrected. "You still don't know what you're doing. And it's unhelpful that you threw the manual in a supernova."

"That doesn't stop it from reappearing multiple times back in the library." Star shrugged.

"Or on my face." The Doctor muttered, rubbing his head. Far too many times had he awoken to find the book on his face, or awoken and the book fell on his face.

"What?" Marcella eyed him at that.

"Anyway," he quickly got the topic changed again and moved around to Bill as she moved closer to the console, not touching just admiring, "make a choice. Past or future?"

She beamed, "Future!"

"Why?" Star tested.

"Why do you think? I want to see if it's happy."

Marcella hesitated as Star and the Doctor jumped to send them off, "what about the vault?"

"You upgraded the security, did you?" Star countered.

"Well yeah but..."

"But why would it fail?"

"Good point." She nodded and moved to help, each Time Lord taking two sections each for a smoother ride.

~.~

"Which way is Earth?" Bill wondered as they stepped out of the TARDIS into a human colony in the next solar system, walking through the tall wheat fields towards the city a short walk ahead.

"Ah, space is bent. Earth is any way you choose to look." The Doctor remarked, "Why, you thinking about leaving?"

"Thinking? I'm not thinking. My brain's overloading. Why a phone box?"

"Star told you."

"Yeah, well, I get that it's a cloaking device, but why keep it that shape? Why do you like it?"

"It's not really liking it," Star shrugged, "it's just stuck. Like that."

"And you've never thought about fixing it."

"It's unfixable."

"Or you just like it."

"Unfixable." She glared, glaring until Bill held her hands up in surrender.

"Come along," the Doctor mumbled leading them through the field to the city. "This is one of the Earth's first colonies." He explained as they walked through the clean white structure, "They say the settlers have cracked the secret of human happiness."

"One question." Bill called, "what's that vault you're guarding? Mars asked about it."

"Marcella," Marcella corrected, "my name is Marcella."

"Star calls you Mars all the time."

"I asked permission." Star defended.

"So...can I call you Mars?" Bill asked for permission.

"No." Marcella shook her head.

Star stuck her tongue out at Bill the woman pursing her lips at the stuck up young woman, wondering exactly why either of them were together and just why the Doctor gave permission before she shrugged, "if that's what you want...Ella." She muttered under her breath.

"Oh!" Marcella gasped at the name. No, far too girly for her.

"Rude." Star huffed, tugging Marcella further ahead, leaving the Doctor with Bill.

"Ok, I suppose I owe you an explanation." The Doctor was able to speak himself again, "A long time ago, a thing happened. As a result of the thing, I made a promise. As a result of the promise, I have to stay on Earth."

"Guarding a vault." Bill followed.

"Guarding a vault."

"Well, you're not guarding a vault right now."

"We have a time machine," Star called back, walking backward to look at them as she spoke, "we can be back before we even left."

"But we're not doing that because then we'll run into ourselves and cause a paradox." Marcella remarked, smirking as Star tripped over her own feet, glaring at her boots no one to blame but herself.

"But what if you get lost, or stuck, or something?" Bill pointed out.

"I've thought about that." The Doctor grinned.

"And?"

"Well, it would be a worry, so best not to dwell on it. Look at this building." He gestured to the large building with the clean clear glass along one wall as they passed through a walkway with a crystal swimming pool, "Look at it. You know what I like about humanity? Its optimism. Do you know what this building is made of? Pure, soaring optimism."

"What are they?" Bill looked up hearing a buzzing to find a swarm of something remarkably small, "Alien birds?"

"Vardies." Marcella stated, "Tiny robots. Work in flocks."

"They're versatile, hard-working." The Doctor added, "Good at learning skills. The worker bees of the Third Industrial Revolution, probably just checking us out for security."

"These are robots?" Bill frowned, "These are disappointing robots."

"That's offensive," Star commented, "no insulting things that are from your future that no one else has seen."

"Er, you can't offend a machine."

"Yes you can."

Bill was about to ask how when she winced, her ear burning, like it had suddenly been caught on fire, "Oh, what just happened?"

"Your ear's on fire." The Doctor mused, he, Star and Marcella having felt the same burning sensation, able to hear their voices in their ears.

"Ow!" Bill winced at the sudden volume of his voice, "Your voice just came out in my ear. I mean, I know voices go into ears but this was like..."

"We have been fitted with some kind of communication device that is using our own nervous system as hardware. We've just downloaded an upgrade for our ears."

"I'll never lose my phone again. I'll never run out of battery again!"

"Welcome to paradise."

"Hang on, is there a mute button though? What if you're in the loo?"

"Who needs loos? There's probably an app for that."

"Where is everyone though?" Marcella wondered. It was far too quiet for a human colony. Humans were loud and always being heard, it was part of the reason other species either wanted to destroy them because they were annoying or avoided the planet.

"Don't tell me we've come halfway across the universe and they've all gone to out." Bill rolled her eyes playfully, "We should've texted first or something. What's that?" She grinned as a triangular shaped door opened for them heading inside one of the building where a small white robot stood waiting for them with a yellow grinning face, "That is a robot. That is not a disappointing robot."

"Technically, this isn't a robot at all." The Doctor corrected, unaware of Marcella's concerned glance back at the door shut after them, "The tiny little things, those are the robots, this is the interface with them."

"Does it speak? Will we understand it?" Bill wondered, delighted with the robot as it's grinning face changed to show question marks for eyes.

"Well, depends upon what aspect of your language have survived over so many thousands of years."

"Emoji!" Bill cheered as the big grin returned, "It speaks emoji!"

"Of course it does." Star muttered. All languages in the human race, English lasted the longest, and so it seemed did emoji. Brilliant.

"Aw." Bill gave a thumbs up to the adorable robot, "It's cute." The robot held out its hands, each with two blank yellow badges, "What's that?"

"Blank badges." The Doctor frowned, cautiously taking one as Bill took another from the other hand leaving two for Star and Marcella. Star snatching both to give one to Marcella. The four eying them, tossing them but they remained blank to them.

"Oh, yours isn't blank," Bill pointed at the frowning face on the back of his, "It's got a face on the back."

The Doctor tossed it round finding it blank again, "Yours too." He glanced at Star and Marcella, Marcella with a wary look, while Stars seemed to have a more curious expression. He had to roll his eyes at that. It summed them both up perfectly. "Interesting."

"Curiouser and curiouser." Star murmured, unable to ever see her face in the badge.

"It's never on the side that you're looking at." Bill mumbled.

"What's it doing now?" The Doctor held his badge up, "What, what face is it making?"

"Sort of puzzled. Me?"

"The same. Cautious," he nodded at Marcella's, "and curious." Star smirked at that, "Do you know what I think? I think that this is some kind of mood indicator."

"But you're never allowed to see your own mood."

"Makes sense." Star shrugged.

"Does it?"

"Knowing your mood effects your mood."

"It's like its collecting and understanding our moods and emotions." Marcella eyed it, cautious as she looked at the badge and the robot.

"So who's collecting the data?" Bill shook her head.

"Is the big question." The Doctor agreed.

"So what do we do then?"

"Well, if they're badges then..." he stuck it to his lapel but it whizzed over his shoulder.

"It's one your back," Star poked it, her own badge doing the same as Bill followed suit. She rolled her eyes as Marcella scanned it, the results coming up neutral before she put hers on, whizzing to the back of her coat, still with the concerned frown.

"So, everyone you walk past can see what you're thinking," Bill remarked. "What if you really fancy someone?"

"Keep eye contact." Star answered.

Bill glanced at her for how quick her response was, noticing she and Marcella were facing each other, "Oh, that's brilliant!" she laughed.

"Welcome to the future." The Doctor watched as the small robot toddled away, "Emojis. Wearable communications. We're in the utopia of vacuous teens." They followed the robot into a wide, open, empty room with a large glass window in the corner overlooking the city and fields below. A table for four in the middle waiting for them as the robot set the four trays down before each chair.

"Look at this. It knew I was starving!" Bill gushed, hurrying to the table and sitting down at the single blue cube on the plate, "Food from another planet. You've got to, haven't you?" She sniffed it, "Smells like fish."

"I'm not that fond of fish," the Doctor muttered, wandering around the room, the puzzled face still on his back, "except socially, which can complicate a meal like this."

"You were eating sushi in New York," Marcella pointed out, "a few christmases ago."

"That's different."

"Because it's raw fish?"

"No, because..." thankfully Bill cut him off.

"Should we eat it, though? I mean, what if they're not like us?"

"Only earth uses cutlery like this," Star reasoned flopping down in the chair to Bills left as Marcella took the one opposite, "and emojis are human."

"Everything is human," Marcella added, "besides..."

"No humans." Bill finished for her.

"This is a perfect colony for humans, so where are all the colonists?" The Doctor shook his head, rolling his eyes as Star took a bite of the blue stuff. The only one of the three girls who seemed to be the first to try it. Using her hands to toss it in her mouth while Bill tasted a small bit cutting it up with the cutlery. "That's some sort of flavoured algae. I haven't seen any livestock yet."

"That's good, isn't it?" Bill swallowed the piece, unsure if she liked it or not as Star tossed her second cube in her mouth, enjoying it, "In the future we don't eat living things, we eat algae."

"I met an emperor made of algae once. He fancied me."

Star swallowed her final bit of algae, smirking over at him, "Do I have to call him dad too? Cuz to be honest anyone's better than Marilyn Monroe."

"You met Marilyn Monroe?" Bill gasped.

"And he got married to her. At Christmas."

"That was years ago." The Doctor huffed, "and wasn't actually my fault."

"Cleopatra."

"Was your fault."

She blinked, "so it was."

"How was you marrying Cleopatra her fault?" Marcella shook her head at that, grimacing in distaste at the algae, pushing the plate away. No, her body was not fond of that.

"This was a regeneration ago."

"Ah." Marcella nodded. From what they both said about Stars previous body that made a lot more sense. Well, how it would have happened wouldn't have made sense, but being Stars fault made perfect sense.

"Are you going to eat that?" Star asked, gesturing to the half-eaten algae in Marcella's place. The girl grimaced again pushing the plate further across the table as Star happily continued to eat.

"Why aren't you loving this?" Bill laughed.

"Everything is here, everything is ready, but there's no one here." The Doctor mused, pacing around the room, none of them noticing the robot beginning to frown at them.

"It's like the Student Union first thing, before the actual students arrive."

"That's it! That's it! Of course! The whole place is waiting. We're just too early."

"For once." Star grumbled. They were usually always late.

"So, they're all still in bed?" Bill grinned, "how come I only got one portion," she frowned, gesturing to the one half eaten cube on Marcella's plate and the two still untouched in the Doctors.

"It's probably reading us as two people." The Doctor explained, gesturing that they had two hearts, "The heartbeats. If you're going to travel 20 light years, you're going to want to make sure you've got somewhere to sleep at the end of it, aren't you? So, what do you do?"

"Sorry? Two hearts?" Bill was caught on that as the Doctor rambled on.

"You send a rocket load of intelligent robots up ahead of you. They build you a place to live, so that, when you arrive, it's all waiting. This is brilliant!"

"You...you've got two hearts?"

"Robots, they don't breathe. They can fix the atmosphere for you, send data back, so you know whether to bring your waterproofs or not. Work in huge robot flocks. You just send them up ahead and you leave them to it."

"Yeah. Hearts, though. Why two?"

"Why one?" Star countered.

"Does that mean you've got really high blood pressure?"

"Really high." The Doctor answered.

"Mostly from stress." Marcella shrugged.

"Why, what gets you stressed?" Bill asked.

"Star." But the Doctor and Marcella replied automatically.

"Hey!" Star pouted, crossing her arms. That was just plain rude.

~.~

They walked through the sunny walkway, passing the palm trees, still not having run into any humans, "So, if the people aren't here yet, what do we do?" Bill questioned as they walked on, "Put the kettle on? Or are we going to leave before they arrive? Is that what you're worried about? I can see you're worried."

"Well, you never know what's round the next corner." The Doctor reasoned.

"It is far too perfect here," Star mused, swinging around a tree, tossing a bit of dirt at Marcella as she crouched to inspect the dirt.

"Was there a need?" She glared.

"Fun!" Star grinned, only for it to fade seeing something blue and glowing in the dirt she had shifted. A pendant. A human pendant at that.

"Humans," Marcella breathed as the pendant opened to reveal a holographic photo of a young boy. "They had been here."

"So where are they now?"

"Ah, of course, wheat fields outside," the Doctor continued as they entered a greenhouse, "now something else to eat when they get here. This is their crops. Look, they're going to have orchards, olive groves. This is their nursery. Look the little robots are doing pollination work. Everything alright?" The Doctor glanced back at them.

Star glanced at Bill, the one too excited about the plants to be paying them any attention, "yeah!" She assured, but held up the pendant, making him frown.

If there was a pendant like that here, then that meant that humans must have been here once. And if so. Where were they now?

"Oh, this plant!" Bill inhaled, "There's one of these growing outside the Student Union. It smells amazing."

"Rosemary." The Doctor acknowledged.

"I'm smelling home 20 light years from home." Bill laughed, "Thanks for bringing me. This is a great day out. I mean, come on, admit it. You love it."

"Did I say I didn't love it? Yes, I do. It's very lovable. You asked me where all the people were, and I theorised that they hadn't got here yet. Did I sound convincing?"

"Yeah."

"And did I convince myself?" He gestured to the emoji on his back.

"Still frowning." Star noted.

"And I'll tell you why. Because there should be somebody here. There should be some kind of set-up team, a skeleton crew."

"You're thinking," Bill eyed him. "Tell me what you're thinking about."

"A magic haddock."

"Obviously." Bill scoffed, watching a snow sort of spray came down on the rows of plants, "What is this stuff? Is it snow?"

"This is fertiliser." The Doctor let it fall between his fingers, "Mineral fertiliser, calcium-based. Now, we don't have answers, so let's put together two questions. What is the source of this mineral fertiliser? And where are all the people?" He moved to the small hopper, opening the lower hatch where a load of skulls and bones tumbled out.

"Urgh!" Bill grimaced, jumping back.

"Here, right here, in this garden." The Doctor murmured, picking up a skull. These were the people who had been living here. One of these skulls had owned that pendant.

"Oh, my God!" Bill gasped, horrified.

"They've not been dead for long," Marcella slowly wiped a thumb over one, "they're not from decomposture. They were..."

"The bones were all that was left behind," Star breathed.

"What, those are the colonists?" Bill swallowed at that.

"The colonists aren't here yet." The Doctor muttered, "This is the set-up team, the skeleton crew."

"Why did the robots feed them to the garden?"

"I don't know. Maybe they ran out of fertiliser. Let's not ask them." They turned to leave only to run into one of the robots, its face sad with a tear drop on one eye.

"Hello!" Star greeted cheerfully, "nice garden."

"Lovely." Marcella agreed.

"Yes!" Bill nodded vigorously.

"Moving on now because there's nothing of particular interest here." The Doctor commented, "Cheerio."

They moved passed the robot, just missing it as the emoji face turned to skull and crosses, the death emoji, and hurried out of the room, down a staircase.

"If he's chasing us, he's moving very slowly." Bill glanced back unable to find it.

"Or it's because it doesn't need to be fast." Star countered, grabbing Marcella's hand as they quickly walked through another building heading back the way they came, only to find two robots in the corridor before them as they came to an intersection, more quickly surrounding them.

"Ok," the Doctor frowned, "they're slow, but the city is full of them, so they catch you in the end."

"What do we do?" Bill questioned.

"Question. We've been here for ages. Why are they attacking us now?"

"Does it matter?"

"Only if we want to live." He noticed none of them seemed to have very happy emojis, something the robots had usually on, well, not now as they looked ready to kill. But right now the four of them had frowning and concerned emojis on their backs. "Smile for me!"

"Why?" Marcella shook her head.

"Use your whole face, right now, do it. The three of you."

"What good's smiling?" Bill asked, grinning.

"Smiles aren't just smiles. Psychologically, they have a measurable effect on your mood states. Yes. These robots, they built this place, they grew those trees. Something went wrong, but they were designed to make you happy."

"How would massacring hundreds of people make me happy?"

"How would massacring hundreds of people make me happy, smiley face." The Doctor grinned.

"Smiley face." Bill fixed her grin.

"The magic haddock."

"What magic haddock? What's that all about?"

"The robots want you to be happy but they got the wrong end of the stick. I think we should give them what they want. Smile!"

Star actually laughed as Marcella fixed a toothy grin on her face, "sorry!" She snorted, her emoji quickly changing to a big grin, "that's hilarious!"

"Yours isn't much better!" She huffed, trying to keep the smile on her face.

"I'll have you know my smile is adorable."

She snorted, "You're not adorable, you're annoying."

"And yet you still put up with me."

"I still don't know why."

The Doctor offered them a thumbs up seeing their little banter was helping their moods as they passed the robots, the robots frowning at them but didn't attack them as he and Bill moved to follow them, "Don't even try without smiling." He warned Bill, "What a lovely place you have here. Thank you so much for your hospitality."

"We will come again." Bill smiled, "Doctor, I was thinking maybe next time we might go to Wiltshire, perhaps, or Aberdeen."

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, him and Bill squeezing past the robots, "two thumbs up for Wiltshire/Aberdeen."

As soon as they were all clear on the robots they quickly ran off through the city, narrowing avoiding the rest of the robots and out of the city, through the wheat field and back to the TARDIS.

"Are they coming after us?" Bill gasped.

"Can't leave the city?" Marcella suggested, "or we're not their problem when we leave. They haven't followed. Killer emoji robots though."

"Surprisingly not the weirdest thing I've seen." Star shrugged.

"Really?"

"Really."

Marcella didn't really want to know what the weirdest thing was.

"Right." The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS doors ushering Bill inside, "You'll be perfectly safe in the TARDIS. She'll look after you until we get back."

"Where are you going?" Bill frowned.

"There's a giant smiley abattoir over there and I'm having this really childish impulse to blow it up. Be right back." He turned and ran back to the city.

"What, you're going back in? We've only just escaped! I thought we were going home."

"And leave those killer robots?" Star scoffed quickly dragging Marcella with her and after the Doctor.

"But they're all dead. We saw them. It's too late."

"There's a lot of humans. You're like rabbits. More are likely to come and then what?"

"They're expecting the new garden of Eden." The Doctor agreed, "What they are not expecting is to be the fertiliser. There's broadband in there. Go! Go and watch some movies or something!"

"We have all Disney's up to 2020. Go enjoy them."

"But don't watch the ones ahead of your time." Marcella added.

"Spoil sport." Star grumbled.

"There are laws, you know."

"Laws are made to be broken."

"No, that's rules."

"Ha!" She grinned, "aren't they just."

"I get that someone has to do something but why is it you?" Bill called, "Can't you phone the police? Isn't there a helpline or something?"

"And stay away from my browser history!" The Doctor finished, the trio racing back to the city.

~.~

"That locket..." the Doctor began as they walked back through the city, they could guess there was a rocket or some shuttle of some kind around somewhere. If there had been humans here then they must have arrived somehow.

Star held it open for him, showing the young grinning boy. She snapped it shut and put it away again spotting one of the little robots, grinning at them. "Hello!" She greeted cheerily.

"Ah! Good morning!" The Doctor smiled brightly, "I'm happy! Good morning. Look at me, I'm happy, happy, happy, happy! What a lovely, beautiful morning, it makes me so happy. I'm happy. I hope that you are happy, too."

"Unbelievably happy!" Star clung to Marcella's arm, the girl silent but smiling as they passed it, their emotion badges smiling.

"See?" The Doctor showed his, "Happy." He followed after them, passing it and had to wonder if it was physiology affecting their mood, or just each other. Probably the latter. Marcella always got a grin from Star. Always, not just these past 70 years, but back before he had left in the first place. When they had been in the academy. Marcella had always come round at visiting days, mostly because Star didn't like the idea of Marcella being alone during those days, and she never particularly got on with her grandfather, according them, anyway. He never met the man.

They headed up a spiral slope in one of the buildings, Star groaned seeing the emotion on the Doctors back switch to a lightbulb, "what are you thinking?"

"I've just realised..." he murmured, speaking into the new comm in their ears, trying to hear anyone else, maybe someone had hidden and survived, "Hello? Is someone there? I can hear you breathing."

"That'll be Bill." Marcella remarked, she could hear the woman running after them.

"Why are you Scottish?" Bill panted as she caught up with them.

"I'm not Scottish," he huffed, he should have known she would stay in the TARDIS. They never did. Well, he assumed Clara never did, he couldn't remember, "I'm just cross."

"Is there a Scotland in space?"

"They're all over the place, demanding independence from every planet that they land on."

"Like Starship UK." Star added, "Scotland had their own ship. Despite the Starwhale was the last of its kind..." she frowned at that. Just how did Scotland get their own ship of the Starwhale had been the last?

"Aren't Starwhales extinct?" Marcella wondered.

"Getting there. Like everything else."

"Why are you here?" The Doctor sighed at Bill.

"Because I figured out why you keep your box as a phone box." She beamed.

"I told you, it's stuck."

"Advice and Assistance Obtainable Immediately. You like that."

"No, I don't."

"See, this is the point. You don't call the helpline because you are the helpline."

"Don't sentimentalise me." He warned, "I don't just fly around helping people out."

"What are you doing right now?" She pointed out.

"We're passing through," Star shrugged, "we like to muck about and cause trouble while stopping it."

"You cause trouble." Marcella corrected.

"I'm a prankster. What can I say?"

"You've never passed by in your life." Bill laughed, "You couldn't even leave me serving chips, so I'm not going to leave you."

"Look at the wall." The Doctor stopped and gestured to it. He himself having only just noticed what was different about it to a normal wall.

"The wall?" She repeated.

"Closely. Before, when the Vardy, the little microbots, were going to attack you, you asked me where they came from. Well, they didn't come from anywhere. They were here all the time."

"What? In the wall?"

Marcella blinked, squinted at it, able to make out the tiny little robots, "they are the wall."

"They're all the walls." The Doctor continued, "These little robots, they didn't build this place, they became it. They can be a part of a wall one minute, flying around the next. This whole structure is built from interlocking microbots. Smile! You're in the belly of the beast."

"So what do we do?" Bill shook her head.

"Well, the obvious. We find a real wall." He glanced at her, seeing her grinning, "Oh, you really are smiling, aren't you?"

"Do you know why?" She smirked, "You're an awesome tutor."

"When the Vikings invaded, they used to pull their longboats out of the water, turn them upside down and live in them as houses until they'd pillaged and looted enough to build new ones." The Doctor remarked as they walked off again.

"So?

"You didn't see a space ship outside, did you? When the settlers first landed, they must have lived in it and built out from it, so it's still here, somewhere inside this building. Ah!" He smiled noticing the old and imperfect wall, rusty and made of iron with a large handle on the door leading to the spacecraft the humans must have arrived in, "Bits of meteor damage. Flecks of rust. Rivets. Oh, I love rivets. A wall. A real, honest wall. Not made of tiny robots but made of any old iron."

"Every spacecraft needs a door." Bill reasoned, tugging on the handle and then pushing it.

Marcella held a snigger at that before stepping up and pressing the button in the middle of the door, opening it. She raised an eyebrow at Bill, "door handles are so 21st century." Star burst into a fit of laughter at that. "What? Was it is?"

"Sorry! 'So 21st century!' Not something I expected to hear from you."

"Is that so?" She folded her arms over her chest.

"Sorry!" She tried to stifled her laughter but every time she tried to stop it got worse, "in ok! I'm good. So 21st century. Ah! Brilliant!"

Marcella smirked at the Doctor seeing him eying her, making him chuckle, realising she had said something so out of character just to make Star laugh, genuinely laugh, no the forced laughter to get passed the robots. Brilliant! Marcella really was a good friend.

"Wicked!" Bill squealed as they entered the large and spacious meta ship, walking down.

"We'll lock it after us, shall we?" The Doctor asked no one in particularly, leaving the door semi open.

"Is it wise?" Marcella glanced back as they walked.

"It's fine." He waved her off, as the room lit up, the ship creaking back to life with them now inside, "Its life support systems are starting up. It knows we're here."

"Whoever did the interior decoration in here needs to take lessons from whoever did it out there." Bill commented, eying the structure.

"Human technology for you." Marcella remarked.

"Mars!" Star whined at that. Another dig at humans and their technology.

"Human technology is crap and you know it!"

"Stop insulting them!" She poked her.

"Or what?"

"Or I'll stab you."

She snorted, "before I disarm you. That'll be the day."

"I did it before."

"I let you." She reached out and grab the blade inches before her chest, tugging it out of Stars grip, sending her tumbling as she refused to let her.

The Doctor rolled his eyes as Marcella flipped the dagger in her hands, smug as she looked down at Star laying face first in the ground. Wherever that thing came from he didn't really want to know. He could only assume it had something to do with Marcella seeing how she was the only person in the universe allowed to touch it without permission. And considering no one ever got permission it was really something.

"Ah!" The Doctor smiled spotting the map of the ship on a wall and moved to get a good look, memorising where the engine rooms were, "Good, old, universally compatible, incorruptible maps. You are here. This is the engine room." He tapped the open space labelled, "That's the target. That's where we're going."

"Right." Bill nodded.

"Oh, actually," he turned to her, "You're staying here and you will be guiding us to here, using this map. We'll hear you through the thingummybob." He tapped his ear with the newly added comm as the trio of Time Lords walked off, all three having already memorised the layout, but Bill didn't need to know that.

Bill glanced back at they walked off, smirking at the matching emoji's on Stars and Marcella's back. They had hardly changed all day, and neither of them turned their back on the other.

Bless.

~.~

"I hate this thing," Star pouted, rubbing her ear, "it is far easier telepathically."

"You can't talk to Bill telepathically," Marcella pointed out but trailed as the pair looked at her, "of course." She sighed.

"You don't seem surprised." The Doctor eyed her reaction. Most humans seemed surprised but waved it of as an alien thing, interested and curious. But the Time Lords, with knowing it was different they tended to react badly. Marcella, didn't. How long had she known? "Left or right," he called to Bill as they turned right, best to keep her occupied as they went to blow thing up.

"Er, right." She replied.

"You haven't told him anything have you?" Marcella hissed. First he didn't know about their Connection, and now it seemed her didn't know just how long she had known if Stars 'insanity' or just how she even realised about it herself.

"It never came up." She shrugged, "so you want to know?" She asked the Doctor.

"Yes!" He answered automatically. Not quite sure what answer he'd be given. But anything was better than nothing. He thought he knew a lot about her, but now with Marcella here he realised just how much he missed of her life and how much of it she kept secret from him.

"Do you?"

"Yes!" He insisted, "Do I?"

"There should be a door," Bill called, the same door they had already just walked through. "That leads onto a corridor. I really am on a spaceship."

"Yes. Which we are about to blow up."

"How are you allowed to do that? Like, how are you allowed to blow something up and not get into trouble? I mean, blow something up, get into trouble. That is a standard sequence."

"What do you mean, allowed? It's a moral imperative. This is a murder machine."

"Beautiful, though, I mean, the whole place. You should be able to see a staircase."

They nodded, the Doctor heading down first followed by Star and then Marcella, "All traps are beautiful, that's how they work. Up or down?" He asked her, realising Bill would see the staircase went up and down and would get suspicious if they did ask which way.

"Down. What? What's this big bit in the middle? There's a big empty space in the middle. The engine is right in the middle of a big empty space. What's that for?"

"Attention!" The speakers suddenly began, "Attention. Erehwon systems initiated."

"The ship's systems are set to respond to human presence." The Doctor reasoned, "it was sleeping. We walked in, now it's waking up."

"Er, there should be a ladder." Bill called as they were already half way down the said ladder, opening a hatch in the ground that led to the engine room, the engine standing providing in the middle of the four catwalks.

"Beautiful." The Doctor breathed, "Fleishman Cold Fusion Engine. All I've got to do is back the flow into the calorimeter and run. It's like it wants to get blown up."

"Hang on, I'm being thick," Bill called, "I can come with you."

"Only now you thought about taking a photo?" Marcella inquired.

"You'd already memorised it, hadn't you?"

"All three of us." Star nodded.

Bill huffed, "Stop trying to keep me out of trouble."

"There's no trouble." The Doctor replied, walking over the catwalk to the engine block, "This is going to be a stroll in the park." He removed the hatch, pulling apart two wires and swapped them round.

"Doctor, why did people come here?" Bill asked after a few moments, "Did something terrible happen?"

"Busy!" Star responded, wincing as Marcella flashed her sonic at one of the pipes, dodging the scalding steam, "alright?"

"Ow," She stated.

"This isn't as easy as it looks." The Doctor muttered. It was taking three of them.

"I've got to know." Bill whispered, "The people who came here, were they the last people? Were they our last hope."

"Earth was evacuated," he admitted, "But there were a number of ships. I've bumped into a few of them over the years. Right, I've re-routed the flow."

"That's not good," Marcella grabbed the wheel as it began to spin, the gauge dropping, the sonic didn't help as every time she let go it continued spinning.

"When the calorimeter reaches its peak." The Doctor shook his head, "we could do with a hand here!"

"Ok," she sighed, "on my way."

"Star, hold it," Marcella instructed, rushing off and grabbing a large spanner to try and hold the wheel in place as Star grunted to move the wheel in the opposite direction.

"Doctor, there's something you need to know." Bill was back on the comm again.

"Busy!" Star snapped again.

"Almost with you."

"You took your time." The Doctor remarked as a robot snuck up behind them, "When Star lets this go, it's going to spin back. I'll hold it tight while Marcella jams it shut."

"This first," Marcella swung the large spanner at the robot, knocking it off the platform, sending it down below, having noticed its death emoji on its face.

"Mars!" Star yelled as she continued to watch the robot fall into the darkness, "if you could hurry up."

"Alright," she huffed, jamming the wheel with the spanner as Star let go. Keeping it in place. "You have no patience."

"I have very little patience." She corrected. She had some, granted very little. But still some.

"Get ready to run!" The Doctor called, "Run really fast!" He ushered them along the platform bumping into Bill and a young boy, "What? Where did you come from?"

"Where is everybody?" The boy simply shook his head.

"Star…" Marcella breathed.

"I know," she nodded. That was the boy from the pendant.

The Doctor frowned at the boy, "When you say everybody..."

~.~

"My very good people," the tannoy called, "we will soon be beginning an emergency disembarkation. Good people, please prepare for disembarkation. We wish you a happy new world."

"Doctor?" Bill frowned at the rows of rows of pod lines up further away from the engine room.

"Pods." The Doctor murmured, "Pods."

"What is it? What's happening?"

"We can't blow up the city."

"Why?" Bill gasped as they suddenly took off running back to the engine, "Those pods, what's in them?"

"I got it wrong." The Doctor replied, the three Time Lords quickly undoing their work, removing the spanner and swapping the wires back, "I got it very, very wrong. The colony ship isn't on the way, it's right here. The colonists are all around us, cryogenically frozen. What's in those pods, Bill, is the surviving population of Earth. And I nearly killed all of them."

"We." Star corrected as Marcella nodded besides her. They too had helped to tamper with the engine, setting it to blow up. If it went off, it was by the three of them.

"Welcome to your new world." The tannoy continued, "Be happy."

"They're waking up, aren't they?" Bill guessed.

"We must have triggered the process when we came in."

"So what happens now?"

"They're going to leave this ship and find family and friends dead." Marcella stated, bitterly.

"And if they don't smile those robots are going to kill them too." Star added. "And boom!"

"End of the human race."

"So what?" Bill shook her head, "so you stop them leaving this ship?"

They quickly made their way back to the pods, finding a man had awoken up already, stretching when he noticed them, "Oh! Oh, those pods, eh? Not much headroom. Oh, I thought I'd be first up. Steadfast, MedTech One. What day is this?"

"The end of the world." The Doctor said, grim.

"Again?" The man, Steadfast, chuckled at his words, "We've only just got here."

"You three," he pointed at the three females, "with me."

"What's happening?" Steadfast asked as they walked off again.

The Doctor glanced back at him, serious, "What's happening is nobody leaves this ship until I tell you otherwise. Clear? Nobody leaves."

"Where are we going?" Bill asked as they walked away again.

"No idea. But if I look purposeful, they'll think I've got a plan. If they think I've got a plan, at least they won't try to think of a plan themselves."

"Do you have a plan?" Marcella inquired.

"No," he admitted, "I don't know how to stop it happening again because I can't figure out why it happened last time. What made them do this? Do you have a plan?"

"Was I expected to?"

"No. In would be nice, though, if someone did." They looked at Star expectantly.

"Oh, so now it's my turn to say I don't have one!" She huffed.

"I think I need to show you something." Bill murmured, leading them off.

~.~

They pulled opened the curtain into a mausoleum where a tomb sat in the middle of the room, an old woman laying there, dead, a book at the edge of the tomb, revealing the war that had destroyed the planet, resulting in the humans coming here. The ones dead already having been the ones needed to get the place ready for everyone else.

"The spacecraft landed." The Doctor began, flicking through the information, "Most of the colonists were kept in cryogenic suspension. A few, the ones with skills."

"The best ones." Bill listed, "The brave ones."

"They were woke to shepherd the little flocks of Vardy robots."

"She came here." Bill nodded to the dead woman, "She was happy. It was all going well. Those are the shepherds, aren't they?" She swallowed at the long list of the dead sliding down the page, "And they're all dead."

Marcella ushered the Doctor aside for a better look at the book, the man pulling a face at the action but kept quick seeing Star grinning at the action, "If we rearrange this data to reflect the time of death..." she trailed, pulled up photos of the Shepards, pulling up one of the woman grinning with a few others,

"That's her." Bill cried.

"She died of old age." Star frowned at the results.

"Then a few more people died all at the same time," the Doctor remarked, "and then a lot more died just after, and then, the rest."

"Dozens."

"A virus?" Bill frowned, "A virus that went, well, viral?"

"Grief!" The Doctor suddenly yelled, "Grief! Grief as plague."

"But how?"

"The Vardies. Well, their job was to maintain happiness. At first, that meant making sure there was enough oxygen and water. That's what the badges are meant to communicate. Satisfaction, a positive mental state. But the Vardy are smart. They learn, try to be good servants, so they expand the definition of happiness until..."

"She dies."

"No one had ever died here before this lady. The Vardies, they'd never heard of grief before. This place is all about hope and the future, and happiness. No one ever thought about the opposite. The Vardies didn't know what to do with it. They identified grief as the enemy of happiness and everyone who was experiencing grief as a problem, as..."

"Compost." Bill swallowed.

"And everyone who died knew others, so..." star trailed.

"Even more compost."

"Until a whole grief tsunami." Marcella continued.

"And all of this took how long? One morning?" Bill gasped, "All of these people were slaughtered in a day?"

"Slaughtered for their own good," the Doctor sighed, "Because the Vardy think different. Like the magic haddock. Not bad, not good, just different."

"So, what will happen when the new people meet the robots?" Bill wondered, blinking as Star hung the pendant before her, opening it to show the picture inside, "That's the boy. The first to wake up. Where did you get this?"

"Who do you think would have something like this?" She countered, "mother?"

"Yeah, or his Nan's." She shrugged, "Well, he'll find her, when she wakes up in her pod."

"Mars and I found it in the fruit garden, when we first arrived."

"Oh." Bill breathed. That boy had family here, all were now dead and he'd grieve once he found that out.

"I would say that a lot of the colonists had friends or family who were working here as shepherds." The Doctor murmured, "When they find out what happened..."

"They'll be grief-stricken."

"And after that..."

"A massacre. Ok, where are we going? "

"What's the opposite of a massacre?"

"Ok, what?"

"In my experience, a lecture."

~.~

More humans had awoken by the time they had arrived at the pods, as the Doctor spoke, trying to explain the situation as best he could without them over reacting, "You brought the Vardy here, microbots to make your life so easy. But like every slave class in history, the Vardy are beginning to have ideas of their own. They wanted to eliminate unhappiness, but to a robot that meant eliminating unhappy people. They gave you monitors, badges, so they'd know when you were too unhappy to live."

"Don't!" Star warned as they ignored them, moving to grab weapons they had brought with them, of course they had brought weapons, the same weapons that had destroyed their planets.

"You need to listen." Bill tried.

"I did listen." Steadfast glared at them, "What did I miss? The Vardy have killed our families."

"But you need to understand why that happened." The Doctor remarked.

"I don't care why."

"Then you and everyone else will die." Marcella stated.

"The Vardy are not your enemy." Star agreed, "surprisingly."

"They want to kill us." Steadfast sneered.

"No." The Doctor argued, "They want to help you. Killing you is just a side-effect."

He barged past, "Get out of my way."

"Guns against an entire living city?" Star countered after him, "good luck with that."

"That little boy," Bill gasped, looking around, only now did they realise he wasn't with them, "where did he go?"

"Oh no." Star groaned. Where else would he be. His family had been out here awake already. He had gone to the city.

~.~

They raced through the city, looking for the boy, the humans following, refusing to put down their guns, finding him walking, flanked by two frowning robots, clearly he had said something worrying that they didn't like.

"There he is!" Bill cried.

"Step away from the kid." Steadfast aimed the weapons threatenly at the robots.

"They're not armed." Bill rolled her eyes, "You don't need to do this. You just need to..."

"What's wrong? What's going on?" The boy swallowed, close to tears, "Where's my mum? Where's everyone?"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" Bill moved and crouched before him seeing the robots emoji turn to death from the boys worry and sadness, "Don't cry, don't cry! Hey, hey. Look, everything's going to be okay. Look, this is your new house. Isn't it lovely?"

"I want Mummy." He sniffled.

Star had to close her eyes at that. Mums always came, unless they were dead.

"Smile. Smile. Smile. Smile." Bill tried, "Everything's going to be fine if you just keep smiling."

"Get away from the kid!" Steadfast ordered, shooting one of the robots down, making it spark.

"Idiot!" Marcella shouted as the other robot flicked between emojis briefly, beeping before it settled. "A robot feeling rage," she mused.

"Or revenge." Star added, "that's new."

"It's one robot." The human rolled his eyes.

"It's not one robot." Bill shook her head, "Doctor, what do we do? Doctor, what's happening?" She gasped as a large portion of the wall turned into a swarm, moving to attack, the humans, naturally, trying to attack back.

"Fascinating!" The Doctor breathed.

"How so?" Marcella glanced at him, moving the boy behind her, away from the swarm.

"What's fascinating?" Bill agreed.

"The Vardy are identifying as under attack," the Doctor explained, "which means they identify as a species. They are self-aware. They, they're alive!"

"Lightbulb!" She smirked, nodding to the badge in his back as it changed.

"They're going to kill us!" Bill yelled, as one man got hit and turned to bones and dust.

The Doctors eyes widened as an idea struck and he quickly removed the face of the dead robot.

"Need any help?" Star was at his side in an instant.

"Hold that." She rolled her eyes as he handed her the face, sonicing the wires inside, "I really hope this doesn't hurt. Do you know why I always win at chess? Because I have a secret move. I kick over the board."

"Or use other local resources." Star muttered, recalling the Cyber Planner on Hendricks world.

"Or that." He agreed, "Here it comes!" He soniced to wires together...

~.~

"Once, long ago, a fisherman caught a magic haddock." The Doctor lamented, as the humans (minus Bill) and Vardys that had been knocked out from the memory wipe slowly came back around again. "The haddock offered the fisherman three wishes in return for its life. The fisherman said, 'I'd like my son to come home from the war, and a hundred pieces of gold.' The problem is magic haddock, like robots, don't think like people. The fisherman's son came home from the war in a coffin and the King sent a hundred gold pieces in recognition of his heroic death. The fisherman had one wish left. What do you think he wished for? Some people say he should have wished for an infinite series of wishes, but if your city proves anything, it is that granting all your wishes is not a good idea.l

"It's okay. It's not going to hurt you." Bill assured as the humans still looked wary of the robots, "Actually, it doesn't even know who you are."

"What happened?" Steadfast demanded, "What have you done?"

"In fact," the Doctor continued, "the fisherman wished that he hadn't wished the first two wishes. You see, in a way, he pressed the reset button."

"What the hell did you do?"

"He pressed the reset button." Star repeated, dryly.

The Doctor nodded, "Every computer has one, and anyone can find it, especially if they happen to be a scary, handsome genius from space. I re-initialised the entire command structure, retaining all programmed abilities but deleting the supplementary preference architecture."

"He turned it off and on again." Bill simplified, having been told what had happened when the humans had been knocked out but she hadn't been.

"I turned it off and on again." The Doctor grinned, "Of course, I wiped their memories." He gestured to the robot's, "They no longer have the faintest idea who you are and, in fact, they're wondering what you're doing in their very nice city."

"Their city?" Steadfast scoffed.

"Yes, their city. It's made of them."

"It's our city. They're our robots."

"They were." Bill corrected.

"Welcome to your new world. Meet the Vardy. They are, as of now, the indigenous life form. You'd best make friends with them because there's loads of them, and they're the only ones who know how anything works."

"They killed our people." Steadfast pointed out.

"And they've forgotten about that," Star shrugged, "and you, and that fact that you made them." She glanced over to see Marcella by the young boy, offering him words of comfort, "and now of course these robots are the city and so have all power. Best get on with them or it'll be a rough night."

"I have a suggestion for you..." the Doctor began.

"Smile." They both laughed.

"You can't be serious." The man gaped at them.

"I am serious." The Doctor nodded, "In fact, I'm willing to be a negotiator."

"Are you now?"

"Yes. Watch." He moved and crouched before the robot, "Hello, I'm the Doctor. A few hours ago, I made the mistake of not recognising your status as an emergent new lifeform. As recompense for my mistake, please allow me to act as your negotiator with a migratory conglomerate known as the human race. They're looking for a place to stay and they've got their eye on your city. Would you like me to discuss rent?"

Star rolled her eyes as the face changed to two pound signs for eyes. Basic human programming, it always came down to the money.

~.~

"So, is it going to work?" Bill asked as they headed back to the TARDIS, leaving the humans and Vardy robots to try and get along.

"That's up to them." The Doctor reasoned.

"Did you just, well, did we just jumpstart a new civilisation?"

"All in a days work," Star smirked.

"If you don't mind," Marcella cut in, "i'd like a few hours of sleep while someone," she gave a pointed look at Star, "checks on the vault."

"Yes, i've got it!"

"Do you do this all the time?" Bill wondered, watching Star as she watched Marcella walked off.

"Do what?" The Doctor looked at her.

"Fly around sorting things out, like some kind of intergalactic policeman."

"I don't sort things out. I'm definitely not a policeman."

"He's a Doctor," Star nodded, "he makes people better. And if that leaks into worlds then..."

"Well, you live in a police box." Bill pointed out.

"That's a pure coincidence." The Doctor waved off.

"Yeah, of course."

"Back at the exact moment we left." The Doctor remarked as they landed, "We've got a vault to guard, and everything is exactly as we left it.

Bill grinned, opening the doors to see if any of the present had actually changed just by her being in the past, only to frown at the sight, "Wasn't snowing when we left."

Star laughed, moving to see they were in London, in deep and heavy snow, on the frozen Thames.

"Maybe I do need a steering wheel." The Doctor muttered.

"Where are we?" Bill breathed.

"London." Star answered, "the Thames." Judging by the elephant walking with bells jingles from its neck, she'd take a guess and say one of the Frost Fairs, "I'll go get Mars..."


	3. Thin ice

"I should have expected this." Star crossed her arms, highly amused. Of course why would they have made it back to the university? That would be far too easy.

"I have questions." Bill began but the Doctor held up a finger, heading back to the console. "You never said we could travel to parallel worlds!" Bill accused, the fact they had ended in the past not even crossing her mind.

"Not a parallel world." The Doctor sighed.

"But that's London."

"Our London. We're on the Thames. The last great Frost Fair. 1814, February 4th."

"Hang on, why aren't we home? Can't you steer this thing?"

"No!" Star snorted.

"I told you." The Doctor muttered, "You don't steer the TARDIS, you reason with it."

"How?" Bill asked.

"Unsuccessfully, most of the time." He moved to the console, to set them off again as Star joined to help, Bill shutting the doors, "She's a bad girl, this one. Always looking for trouble."

"And we aren't?" Star countered.

"Shut up."

She grinned moving back outside only to find they had simply moved onto the bridge above the frozen river, "not leaving them?" She glanced back as Bill and the Doctor joined her again.

"Last day before the thaw. Thought I'd better find a more reliable parking spot."

"Wait, you want to go out there?" Bill blinked.

"You don't?"

"It's 1814." She pointed at her face, "Melanin."

"Mars is black," Star pointed out.

"Marcella isn't here. Slavery is still totally a thing."

"Yes, so it is." The Doctor nodded slowly.

"It might be, like, dangerous out there."

"Definitely dangerous." He agreed.

"So, how do we stay out of trouble?"

"Very badly." Star grinned.

"Ok, when you go somewhere dangerous, what do you take?"

"I'll show you then I'll go and drag Mars out too." Star took Bills hand and led her back, out of the console room to the wardrobe.

"Where are we going?" Bill shook her head.

"Wardrobe. There's a lot of regency dresses I have yet to try."

"So the TARDIS has dresses and likes a bit of trouble? Yeah, I think I'm low-key in love with her."

"I know!"

~.~

Star grinned as they stepped back outside, each dressed in period clothing, the Doctor in a coat for the times and a top hat, Bill dressed in a white dress with a thick dark coat and fur trim, a large feather hat on her head.

Star was just happy to not wear another Victorian gown. Dressed in a high empire waist dress in deep purple with puffed sleeves at her shoulder before fitting tight to her wrists with simple black gloves on her hands, a black silk sash under her bust tied into bow at the back. Her hair tightly curls, a few left around her ears with the rest in a bun at the back of her head, a black ribbon wrapped around, tied into a bow at the top of her head.

"I hate you so much." Marcella huffed, stomping out after.

"You wanna go and try on another dress?" Star rounded on her, smirking at the scowl she was greeted with.

Marcella had originally tried a printed dress for the times but quickly gotten out of that, ending in a small playful argument of Star refusing to let her out the wardrobe until she wore something of the times, something Bill had found highly amusing. And so eventually Marcella had found a regency suit and thrown that on. Wearing tan pants tucked into her usual black boots, a shirt under the red buttoned up tailcoat.

"Besides you look lovely."

She truly did, maybe regency era wasn't the best time period for Marcella but it still worked for her. Everything worked for her. She could wear a bin bag and Star would love it.

"You think?" Marcella scoffed.

"Yes!" Star insisted, nodding vigorously, "beautiful. Utterly gorgeous."

She gave a curt nod, the corners of her mouth twitching into a small smile, "thank you."

Bill smiled at the pair as Star linked her arm through Marcella's as they walked off away from the blue box that stood out amongst the crowd, "Doesn't anyone notice the TARDIS?" She frowned at how everyone past it, very similar to how no one questioned Marcella wearing a suit, the only girl around dressed as a man.

"Your species hardly notices anything." The Doctor commented.

"So, what are the rules?"

"Rules?"

"Yeah. Travelling to the past, there's got to be rules. If I step on a butterfly, it could send ripples through time that mean I'm not even born in the first place and I could just disappear."

"Oh, like Pete." Star nodded.

"Pete?" Bill looked over at her for that. Who was Pete? She didn't know any Pete's.

"Your friend, Pete." The Doctor agreed, gesturing around, "He was standing there a moment ago, but he stepped on a butterfly and now you don't even remember him."

Bill stared at them, seeing them serious, before hearing the small snigger from Marcella, Star staring to grin, and whacked the Doctor on the arm for the mean little joke, "Shut up! I'm being serious!"

"Yeah, so was Pete." The Doctor chuckled.

"You know what I mean." She rolled her eyes, "Every choice I make in this moment, here and now, could change the whole future."

"Exactly like every other day of your life. The only thing to do is to stop worrying about it."

"Hmm. Ok, If you say so."

"Pete's stopped worrying."

"Chestnuts, sir?" One of the many sellers asked as they passed his stall.

"Ooh," Star grinned at the Doctor who rolled his eyes but brought a bag from the spare few coins he found in the coat. "Thank you." She tossed one in her mouth, offering one to Marcella, the girl shaking her head.

"Come to the Frost Fair, miss." A young girl in ragged clothes called softly, holding out a flyer, "Only a sixpence, miss."

"Oh, my God..." Bill breathed.

"You're not stepping on a butterfly," the Doctor nearly rolled his eyes at that, "you're just taking a flyer."

Slowly and hesitately, Bill took the flyer from the little girl.

"There we are, sweetie," Star smiled at her, handing her the bag of chestnuts. Poor thing looked underfed and cold.

The Doctor set his top hat on the girl, making her giggle as Bill stared, unsure how that would affect the future, "its just time travel. Don't overthink it."

"Is that what you said to Pete?" She teased.

"Who's Pete?" Marcella shook her head.

"Are you being serious or joining in on the joke?" Star frowned at her, genuinely unsure. She smirked seeing Marcella smirking herself, she had joined in, "I didn't know you made jokes."

"I don't. I leave that to you."

"I am hilarious." She agreed.

"Sixpence to the waterman!" A man was yelling as they headed down the steps to the river, "Sixpence for the Frost Fair!" The Doctor paid for them as Bill handed over the flyer, lifting up the hem of her skirt as she slowly stepped onto the snow covered frozen river.

"Yeah, no big deal. Just walking on the Thames!" Bill squealed, "I hope you realise I'm going to try everything. Everything."

"Exactly!" Star cheered, "so am I." She tugged Marcella towards the stalls, planning to get her to try something as well. Ox cheek, perhaps, or Lapland mutton, maybe a sheep heart.

Bill seemed less than impressed as Star brought an ox cheek, taking a bite, and offering it to Marcella who took a bite and grimaced. No, not for her. Star shrugged and continued eating.

"Yeah." Bill turned green just at the names of the food, "Maybe not everything."

"Oh, go on." The Doctor urged, "Try this, at least." He held out a skewer to her. As she pulled a face in disgust, "It's my favourite."

"Your favourite? You've been here before?"

"Oh, yeah. A few times."

"We came for River birthday once," Star added.

"Got Stevie Wonder to sing for her." The Doctor smiled at the memory.

"While ice staking!"

"Must have been nice." Marcella commented softly. She knew of River, they had mentioned having spent 24 years together for a night on Darlimum before the woman had died. Star had said she had sacrificed herself for the Doctor as they never met in the same order. "Stevie Wonder isn't from this time period, is he?"

Star winced, "no!" Only to join in with Bills cheering as two men wrestled before the crowd, hoping her attention on the match before them would be enough for Marcella not to complain about messing with time travel.

"Get in!" The woman laughed.

"Of course, it's not really wrestling unless it's in zero gravity." The Doctor remarked.

"Seriously?"

"With tentacles...And magic spells."

"Interesting." Bill mused, looking around at all of the people, noticing it wasn't quite as white as they had been expecting.

"What is?"

"Regency England. Bit more black than they show in the movies."

"So was Jesus." Star shrugged, "humans love to whitewash everyone."

~.~

While Bill didn't seem too keen to try all the food at the fair, she certainly wanted to take part in all of the games and other fun shows and activities. Winning a game of skittles, thanks to being a pub champion two years running.

But now they were in the fish rent, trying the fish pies.

"Best fish pies on the ice." The pie man was saying, "Try your luck, ladies and gentlemen! Toss for a pie!"

Bill pouted at her wrong guess of coin toss, in the fish tent. Give the man a coin and if it landed on the side you called the pie was free.

"And you're sure this isn't cow brains or sheep eyes or..." Bill eyed the pie.

"I caught the fish myself, miss." The man swore, "made it right here in the old..." he spun to see Star before the counter of the pies, "Hey! What are you about?" He demanded.

"Just checking they were fresh." She blinked, "you said they were the best but didn't say how fresh."

"Caught them this morning. I did."

"Do that again." The Doctor said, getting the mans attention from Star, "Toss the coin."

"Pay me another and I will."

The Doctor handed him a coin as Bill enjoyed her pie, "Forget about the pie, I don't want a pie. I just want to see how you cheated."

"Cheated?!" He exclaimed.

"Doctor..." Bill began.

Marcella glanced over to see she was frowning at the ice and snow, the illuminous green lights shining underneath, she caught Stars eyes, the girl nodding, spotting them, getting the Doctor attention at them as well.

Now the action was beginning.

"Don't look at me like that." The Doctor shook his head, "I'm saying you're a very good con-man."

"I'm a what?"

"A trickster. A swindler."

"He isn't actually conning anyone," Marcella shook her head, handing the man a coin, "heads." The man tossed the coin in the air, where it landed heads up.

"Well done, miss." He smiled, handing her a pie and he coin back.

Marcella smirked at the Doctor, smug.

"Right on, Mars!" Star cheered, back at her side in an instant.

"You see," the Doctor shook his head at them, "I'm a bit of a thief myself. I bet you that I could steal anything from your shop."

The man glared at him at that, "get out!" And forcefully removed him from the shop making him slide into a young couple from the ice, grabbing the mans top hat and slipping it on his head, joining Bill as she frowned at the snow and ice.

"In theory!" The Doctor yelled back, "I could steal anything in theory. Honestly, some people."

"Another pie?" Star held one from behind her back.

"Where were you hiding that?" Bill blinked.

She winked, "I'm a thief, not in theory."

"Yeah, you're welcome." The Doctor scoffed.

"Oh, please," she mimicked his scoff, "you know you didn't need to distract him."

"How many have you got?" Bill gasped, as Star pulled out another one, handing one to the Doctor. Marcella eating the one she won.

"Enough." She shrugged.

"Are there side-effects to time travel? Like, physical symptoms?"

"Oh, yeah." The Doctor nodded, "Yeah, yeah. Sometimes you see lights under the ice."

She finished her pie, "Ok, so you've seen the lights."

"Of course."

"Well, why didn't you say something?" She huffed at that.

"We were having fun!" Star defended.

"I assumed we'd get to work eventually." The Doctor added. "Now, are these lights electric or organic?" He hadn't actually seen them properly, just a glimpse when Star had pointed them out, thanks to Marcella, who had noticed Bill staring.

"Organic lights?"

"Bioluminescence. Fireflies...glow-worms..."

He was cut off as a young black girl slowly approached dressed in rags and a large shawl, "Please, sir. Have you seen my dog?" She held up the large collar, "he was right here, but then I looked away and he..."

"And he escaped his collar?" Marcella guessed.

Bill shushed her, crouching before the girl, "It's ok, we'll help. Um, what does he look like?"

"He's small and brown and ever so soft." The girl replied.

"Nice con, dude." Star admitted, "that collar is far too big, and brown hair...?" She scoffed.

"There's white hair in the collar." Marcella pointed out.

"Oi!" The Doctor grabbed the wrist of a young boy in a red hat as he snuck up behind him, grabbing the sonic screwdriver that was semi poking out of his pocket. He struggled to grab it back from the boy until the girl kicked the Doctor in the shins, pulling the boy off, sonic in hands.

Star laughed, "sorry," she offered at the Doctors glare. She couldn't help it, a little boy had stolen the sonic, all because he didn't put it away properly.

"Come on."

"It's isomorphic, right?" Marcella asked as they ran after the kids. If they pressed a button out of curiosity they could easily melt the river in an instant with everyone on it.

He winced, "I don't use isomorphic."

"Great." She grumbled, dodging the aerobics show, Star following, ducking and dodging the men while the Doctor and Bill stopped, unable to get past.

"Where'd they go?" Star gasped, seeing they'd disappeared for their view, having lost sight of them from dodging the aerobics.

"I don't know." Marcella shook her head.

"Scan with your sonic. It's the reason you got it."

"Its in my other coat."

Star stared at her, "off all the insufferable...you're other coat," she flared her nostrils out in irritation, "didn't you think to swap it?"

"We were meant to be going back to the fault. Not a Frost Fair! This is not my fault."

"Oh and its my fault, is it? Like everything else."

"Getting emotional are we?"

"You're accusing me!"

"Oh here we go!" Marcella rolled her eyes, "you're letting your emotions get the better of you."

"Better than pretending I don't have any."

"There they are!" The Doctor yelled, cutting them off from the glare off as they turned to see him and Bill running towards a tent that the two kids snuck out off, "now quit bickering like a married couple."

"How dare..." Star began.

He pointed a finger at her, "no."

She snapped her mouth shut, waiting until he looked away before pulling a face behind him back.

"Stop it!"

She pouted but followed the kids across the ice, separating from the crowd, to find the boy standing, sonic in hand, the green lights circling around him, the girl a few feet ahead, yelling for him to move.

"The lights." The Doctor gasped, "He's seen the lights."

"Kitty?" The boy cried to the girl as the ice below him cracked and he fell through, the arm with the sonic up as the Doctor cautiously ran to him, as the arm sink and he grabbed the sonic before it too was lost under the ice and it closed up.

Bill swallowed, tears in her eyes as the Doctor kissed the screwdriver and safely put it away in his pocket again, not caring about the boy lost under the ice, "Save him."

"I can't." he glanced back at her, "He's gone."

"Do something and save him." Bill glared.

"I'm sorry about your friend, but the danger isn't over yet. There must be more of you living rough here. Tell me where?" He looked at the girl.

"So, you can take us to the Magistrate?" She scoffed, still trying to remain tough despite her friend having died before her eyes.

"We're not here to arrest you," Star shook her head, "you're just trying to survive in the streets."

"We're here to help." Marcella agreed.

"Yeah? You're friends gone." She nodded behind them and Bill had indeed gone. She took off through the mist.

~.~

They had easily found Bill hiding from them under a bridge, crying.

"Hey," Star called hesitantly.

"How did you find me?" The girl wiped her eyes now she was found.

"Get used to that question." The Doctor muttered.

"Oh, clever. Yeah, very clever."

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" She repeated bitterly, "Seriously, what's wrong? I've never seen anyone die before."

"A few hours ago, we were standing in a garden full of dead people." Marcella deadpanned.

"That was different."

"How?" Star asked.

"They were dead already."

"And that's ok for you?"

"Morally and practically, that is not a useful distinction." The Doctor remarked, "Unlearn it."

"Don't tell me what to think." Bill snapped.

"I'm your teacher." He countered, "Telling you things is what I do."

"Yeah? Tell me this. You've seen people die before, yeah?"

"Of course."

"All thee of you?"

"Yes." Star and Marcella nodded.

"You still care?" She looked between them.

"Of course we care." the Doctor frowned.

"How many?"

"How many what?"

"If you care so much, tell me how many people you've seen die?"

"I don't know." He admitted quietly.

"Ok," she took a deep breath, trying to keep her emotions under control, "How many before you lost count?"

"I care, Bill," he promised, "but I move on."

"Yeah? How quickly?"

"It's not me you're angry with." Yes, him. He had grabbed the sonic and didn't help the boy. She was asking him how many he had killed. She wasn't asking Star or Marcella. They were out of this. This was him.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" She cried, "There's a look in your eyes sometimes that makes me wonder. Have you?"

"There are situations when the options available are limited."

"Not what I asked."

"Sometimes the choices are very..." he began.

She harshly cut him off, "That's not what I asked!"

"Yes."

"How many?" She scoffed at the silence, a glance at Star. Clearly she knew he had killed, possibly been by his side as he had, "Don't tell me. You've moved on."

"You know what happens if I don't move on?" He countered, "More people die. There are kids living rough near here. They may well be next on the menu. Do you want to help us? Do you want to stand here stamping your foot? Because let me tell you something. I'm 2000 years old, and I have never had the time for the luxury of outrage."

"What do you mean, on the menu?" The young girl, Kitty, called from behind them.

~.~

They themselves didn't really know what they meant. Clearly there was something under the river causing the lights and was taking people under the ice. And so, promising that none of the other kids living in the streets would get harmed, Kitty had led them to their secret hide out, sheltering from the cold.

"Is this where you live?" Bill looked around the dark and still quite cold room.

"For now." Kitty nodded.

"But there's no one here."

"Good work!" Kitty called and a small group of dirt looking child's appeared from their hiding spot, "Except you, Dot. I can see your shoes."

"They're too big, that's why!" The little girl from earlier giggled, her head half hidden by the Doctors top hat.

"Oh, I see!" The Doctor grinned at them all, "I get it. You lure people to the fair and then you rob them. Very good. Very enterprising."

"They're all right, Dot." Kitty assured, an arm around the young girl as she hid in her shawl, "Strange. But all right. And that's not how it is."

"So you don't rob people?" Marcella raised an eyebrow.

"Course we do. But bringing people to the fair, that's by-the-by. On the side, like."

"Why?" Star frowned.

"Why? For coin, of course. Why else?"

"Someone pays you to promote the fair, get people onto the ice?" The Doctor followed as the girl nodded, "Who? Who pays you?"

"Kitty..." one of the other girls called, "where's Spider?"

"Spider is." She swallowed, how could she possibly tell them? "He..."

"Who's hungry?" The Doctor interrupted, handing of the fish pies Star nicked. It surprised him how she could steal so many and hide them all in his coat without his knowledge, "I'm hungry. Food! Food is always useful."

"They're stolen," Star added as the kids looked unsure, "and with the bosses permission," she glanced at Kitty, she seemed the one in charge of them all, and the eldest, despite being young herself.

Kitty gave a curt nod and the children stuck in, hungry and willing to eat anything.

~.~

The Doctor sat in an old chair by the fire of the secret hideaway, the children listening intently as the Doctor read to them. A book from after their time, Little Suck-A-Thumb.

"Don't suck your thumbs while I'm away. The great tall tailor always comes to little boys who suck their thumbs. Ere they dream what he's about He takes his great sharp scissors out and cuts their thumbs clean off and then..."

"You done staring yet?" Kitty demanded as she hid her remaining pie in a cupboard to save for later, seeing Bill staring at her.

"We're going to find out what those things are, ok?" Bill reassured, "They're not going to hurt anyone else, I promise. I promise. The Doctor, he helps people. That's what he does. Same with Star and Marcella."

"And you? What do you do, apart from shout at him?"

"We were fighting. It happens." She shrugged. Everyone tended to fight. Earlier it looked like Star and Marcella were having a little argument about something and back at the university she had walked into the office to see Star and the Doctor yelling at each other about something.

"Are you still fighting now?"

"No. I moved on."

"Does that mean he won the argument?" Star wondered, gesturing to the Doctor as he closed the book, finishing the story.

Bill just stuck her tongue out much to the Doctors amusement.

"Ok," he nodded, "I'm wondering why the Frost Fair's on this part of the river. I bet that at least one of you knows who paid Kitty to take people out on the ice."

"It was a bad man, with a ship." Little Dottie called.

"Dottie!" Another girl chastised.

"A ship?" Marcella frowned at that, "What, do you mean a merchant?"

"Not that kind of ship." A boy shook his head.

"Perry!"

"It's all right." Kitty remarked, "You can tell them."

"It's a drawing." Dottie explained, "Here. On his hand."

"So, this guy, where would we find him?" Bill asked.

"He finds us." One girl said.

"But a tattoo on his hand, I mean, we could ask around?"

"Ooh, but that's so boring!" Star pouted.

"Yeah but someone's bound to have seen someone with a ship on his hand." Marcella countered.

"See?" Bill beamed, "she agrees me with."

"Nah!" The Doctor waved her off, "I know something that's much easier to find."

"Where are we going?"

"All right." He stood from his chair, "You guys, hang tight! Laters."

"Don't..." Star cringed.

"I was being all 'down with the kids' there, did you notice?"

"Yeah, my hair was cringing." Bill grimaced.

"Awesome."

"Please stop!" Star whined, "This isn't fair on me."

~.~

"So, what's easier to find?" Bill wondered as they stood at the edge of the river.

"Conjecture." The Doctor replied, "There's something frozen under the Thames and it's eating people."

"Ok..."

"Proposal. We need to get a closer look it."

"Good, yeah."

"Let's get eaten!" Star beamed.

"What?" Bills eyes widened.

The Doctor pulled along a cart and unloaded the brass driving gear for them he had grabbed from the TARDIS.

"Is this stuff safe?" Bill eyed it.

"Potentially."

"Potentially? What does potentially mean?"

"Safe, with a frisson of excitement."

"It's safe." Marcella reassured seeing Bill still cautious.

"Right, but we're not going to be like completely defenceless down there, though?"

"No, no, no, no. Well yes. But don't worry about it."

"Why not? What have you got up your sleeve? Oh, my God!" She laughed, "Have you been holding out on me? Do you have, like, magical, alien powers?" The trio of Time Lords glanced at each other at that, "What, was that an impolite question?" She frowned at their silent looks. They were hiding something, she was sure of it.

~.~

They came back that night once everyone had gone and left the fair for the day and so it was the perfect time to get eaten, dressing in the large driving suits, each carrying a lantern.

"Why do we need diving suits on top of the ice?" Bill inquired.

"If we're lucky," the Doctor began, "the lights will come and take us under. Whatever they are, they're clever. When they went after the boy, they waited until he was away from the crowds, by himself."

"So, you know," Star added as she wandered off, "be careful."

"What?" Bill called back, unable to hear clearly under the helmet, "Did you say something?"

"The question is, how?" The Doctor continued.

"So, how?" Marcella shook her head, herself and Star walking randomly near each other, neither really planning on going under the water if they could help it.

"Doctor?" Bill cried as the lights began to surround her, "Oh. Ah. Doctor? Doctor! Doctor!" Of course they couldn't hear her so to get his attention she tossed her lantern at the back of his head, hitting him and making him turn in time to see her fall through the ice.

"Bingo!" The Doctor jumped after her just before the ice closed up.

Marcella looked around to see two lights missing, "oh. We missed the fun."

"Pity." Star agreed mockingly.

"Shall we get off the ice before we fall through too?" Marcella asked.

"Ooh definitely."

They headed back to the shore, neither were expecting to find the pie man fishing for pies.

"Dude!" Star greeted cheerily as the headed over, only for the man to scrambled away from them.

Marcella rolled her eyes, removing her helmet, "does he not know you cannot run from us?"

"Seriously?" Star raised an eyebrow, removing her helmet as they found the man hiding behind a barrel on the wharf side. She pulled her dagger out on him.

"Who are you?" He gasped, "What do you want with me?"

"You seen a man with a tattoo in his hand?" Star asked as he stepped out, hands up in surrender. "Looks like a ship?"

"We're stood by the docks, and you just asked me if I've ever seen a man with a tattoo of a ship." The man gasped at them.

"Fair point." Marcella nodded.

"Just...have you or haven't you?" Star huffed, putting the dagger away.

"Or seen anyone acting suspiciously since the freeze?" Marcella pressed.

"Well, there's the dredgers." He fumbled, a bit more willing to talk when he wasn't held a knife point.

"The dredgers?" Marcella repeated.

"There's a workhouse upriver. They have men out there patrolling all hours."

"Cheers for that then!" Star smiled, turning and tugging Marcella off, leaving the man to his fishing as they met up with the returned Doctor and Bill. "We got a lead!"

"There's a creature down there trapped in chains." Bill gasped.

~.~

Early the next morning they ducked behind a spiked wall, watching the workers.

"What are they dredging for?" Bill whispered.

"Let's find out." The Doctor smirked.

"How are we getting in?" He held up the psychic paper, "You work for the palace?"

"Haven't had that one in a while."

"Thank god it's not the royal family of Belgium." Star groaned.

"Ooh..." he smiled.

"No!"

"Just one more time?"

"No! I am not being the princess of Belgium again!"

"Princess of Belgium?" Marcella looked between them, bemused.

"Don't ask." She grumbled as they moved round to get into the workplace, sneaking past the men guarding the gates and walking through, not a single person caring they were walking around, except one.

"Oi!" A man yelled storming to them, "How'd you get through here?"

"Ah ha!" The Doctor showed him the psychic paper, "At last, someone in authority."

"Oh, I do apologise, sir." The man straightened, "Does Lord Sutcliffe know you're here?"

"Does Lord Sutcliffe know we're here?" He repeated quietly, "Does Lord Sutcliffe know we're here?"

"Lord Sutcliffe insisted we come." Marcella told him.

"Hmm. Oh, that Lord Sutcliffe, yes. There's no arguing with Sutcliffe when he puts his foot down. You'd better show us around."

"Follow me, sir." The man turned and led them through the workplace, the men covering their mouths with cloths, moving patches of mud into brick mounds.

"Why all the fuss?" Bill inquired, "It's just mud from the river, isn't it?"

"Mud is one word for it." Star muttered.

"Is this even the right place? The creature's almost a mile away."

"The creature's head is almost a mile away." The Doctor corrected.

Star blinked, her head whirling to him, "how big is she?"

"No idea but I assume we're now at the other end. These men," he turned to the man in charge, "why do we trust them?"

"Hired them all myself, sir." The man remarked, proud.

"Ah. Why do I trust you?"

"Sir?"

"You understand how important this is, yes? It is imperative that no one discovers where the stuff goes when it leaves here."

"Oh, I know that, sir. We use unmarked carts."

"Are they followed?" Marcella tilted her head.

"Oh no, sir." He assured, not noticing the eye roll he received. Honestly, just because she was wearing a suit and during this time period the woman never wore pants they just assumed she was a man herself.

"You personally check?" Star eyed him.

"Oh yes, ma'am."

"All the way to Hampton? The Doctor questioned.

"No, to the steel mill, sir." He corrected.

"Hampton is code for the steel mill."

"Code, sir?"

"Yes." He moved closer to talk quieter, "Yes, we need to use code otherwise anyone could walk in here and get you blabbing like a fool."

"That's a good point, sir."

"Now, these men, what do they know of this material?"

"No more than I do, sir." He answered honestly.

"Yes, but you are someone who knows more than he tells."

"I'm not one to speculate."

"But you can't help it because you're a man of intelligence."

The man glanced over his shoulders to ensure his men were working and not listening, leaning closer to the Doctor, "They won't let us smoke in here, so I assume it's fuel. Fuel for the furnaces, sir."

"Excellent reasoning. Lord Sutcliffe appreciates an enquiring mind."

"Well, I keep my ear to the ground, you know."

"And what is the ground saying these days?"

"That this stuff burns a thousand times longer than coal?"

"Very good."

"Hotter, too. Hotter than they can measure."

"Excellent! First class."

"I'm right, aren't I, sir?"

"Oh, there's no stopping you. You keep this up, you won't be working in this yard for very long."

"Oh, you think not?"

"I can almost guarantee it."

"We can definitely guarantee." Star added.

"You know what else they say?" The man whispered, "They say it even burns under water."

"No sh..." Bill began, but a horse neigh cut over her.

~.~

They gone to Lord Sutcliffe's large Manor House, showing the psychic paper to the butler who had escorting them to the dining room and gone to fetch his boss. If he was behind this then before they could stop him, they had to figure out which planet he was from and why he was keeping that creature down there.

"So, you think Sutcliffe is an alien?" Bill frowned as they waited, Marcella adjusting the planets on an ornery, with Star moving them back getting a glare from Marcella.

"Possibly." The Doctor agreed.

"Because the creature is an alien."

"It certainly appears to be producing fuel suitable for interstellar travel. Either way, the three of you," he looked at the females, "I need you to leave the talking to me."

"Why?"

"Because you have a temper."

"No, I don't." Marcella shook her head.

"Really. She doesn't." Star agreed.

"Well, you two then."

"Fair enough."

"Oh ok," Bill huffed, "well, I lost it a tiny bit."

"You're about to meet a man, alien or otherwise, for whom human beings are raw material. Who grinds up children for profit. What we are here for is one thing. Information. We get that with diplomacy and tact. Charm, if necessary."

"So...Marcella is doing the talking then?"

"No. I am."

Star snorted, "You? Charming? That'll be the day."

"I'll have you know I can be very charming!" He huffed, either ignoring the shared looks for Star and Marcella or not noticing them, "Always remember, Bill. Passion fights, but reason wins."

The woman sighed but flopped down in a chair to let him do the talking.

A man in a blue suit and short neat hair entered, holding the psychic paper, "Doctor Disco, from the Fairford Club!" He greeted noticing the man first, "Obviously, one aspires to membership, but to actually be considered for..." he spotted Bill in the chair and Star and Marcella nearby, "Who, who let these creatures in here?" He demanded, "On your feet, girl, in the presence of your betters."

"Oh!" Stars nostrils flared at that.

The Doctor tapped Sutcliffe in the shoulder making him turn only to get punched in the jaw, knocking him to the ground, "He's human." He shook the pain from his hand, "31 years of age. Low on iron."

Nobody, insulted his family, racist pigs were a big no no in his books. He wasn't going to stand there and be charming while he insulted them, he was insulting them all just calling them girls and looking down at them for their gender, but he was far worse at Bill and Marcella just because their skin was darker. He'd never understand humans for that.

"Dick head." Star glared at him.

"Would it be bad if I gave him a good kick." Marcella wondered.

"Go ahead. I won't judge." She smirked as Marcella have him a good kick in the ribs. For her, it was light and weak, her usual leg kicks could break down doors and break bones if she wanted to. She whistled, "lovely."

"Yeah, that was pretty convincing racism for an extra-terrestrial." Bill muttered.

"My thoughts exactly." The Doctor nodded, his face falling as a couple of men entered, none to impressed to see their boss in the ground, "Oh, hello. Can I just say, this is very unlike me. I don't normally do this."

"He was aiming for charming," Star added. Honestly he had done far worse when aiming for charming.

"Basically." He sighed as the men grabbed them and tied their hands behind their backs with ropes while they waited for Sutcliffe to come to, the man rubbing his jaw as he glared at them, trying to pretend he hadn't be knocked by an old man, and no one had kicked him.

"Well, you're not from the Fairford Club."

"The creature in the river, where did it come from?" The Doctor got straight to the point.

"Who the devil are you people?"

"Where did it come from?"

"Nowhere! It's always been there. The secret's been passed down in the family since, I don't know when. As far back as records go."

"And do you keep a record for how many it had killed?" Marcella tilted her head at him, noting the man holding her had a tattoo on his hand, of a ship.

"Please." The man narrowed his eyes at her, "People know the ice is dangerous, yet they will insist on their festivities. That's hardly my fault."

"Biggest Frost Fair in decades, don't tell me, a mere coincidence," Star mocked.

"Perhaps it is."

"The man holding me has a tattoo on his left hand." Marcella commented, nodding to it.

"And that's not all, is it?" The Doctor added, "the circus performers, the elephant, that's all you."

"I made the most of the situation." Sutcliffe shrugged, "It's the first proper freeze it's caused in years."

"Why?" Bill shook her head, "Production down, huh? Not enough people dying?"

"Girl, you show the ignorance of all your kind. Without that beast, my mills would rely on coal mines, and men die in coal mines all the time."

"I preferred it when you were alien." The Doctor stated.

"When I was...?"

"It would make you less of a dick." Star sneered.

"It would explain the lack of humanity." The Doctor remarked, "What makes you so sure that your life is worth more than those people out there on the ice? Is it the money? The accident of birth that puts you inside the big, fancy house?"

"I help move this country forward." The man held his chin up, wincing from the jaw movement, "I move this Empire forward."

"Human progress isn't measured by industry, it's measured by the value you place on a life. An unimportant life. A life without privilege. The boy who died on the river, that boy's value is your value. That's what defines an age. That's what defines a species."

"What a beautiful speech. The rhythm and, and vocabulary, quite outstanding. It's enough to move anyone with an ounce of compassion. So, it's really not your day, is it? If they know about the beast, then others must, too. We bring the plan forward."

"When, sir?" One of the large henchmen asked.

"Now! In daylight."

~.~

"No time for outrage." Bill mimicked as they were shoved in a carriage, still tied up with the blinds down so no one suspected anything, "You've never had time for anything else, right?"

"Don't be smug." He grumbled, "Smug belongs to me."

"This is so humiliating." Marcella hung her head, captured and tied up by humans. She'd never let this down.

"Are you really 2000 years old?" Bill asked.

"Why?"

"I just wanted to know how long it takes before you can make a speech like the one you just made. It was worth the wait."

"700. And I still haven't done one yet." Star pouted.

"You never asked to." The Doctor countered.

"You never gave me the chance!"

"You can do the next one."

"Promise?"

"Yeah. I promise. Give me the face and I'll keep quiet."

"Yes!" She cheered, grinning sheepishly as one of the henchmen opened the doors to see her grinning, while tied up, "sup, dude." She gave a nod as he pulled them out roughly and into a tent, getting tied to a pole.

"Interesting," Marcella mused, eying the wires from a long panel at the top of the tent, running along the pole they were tied too and down to a selection of barrel, connected to a selection of fireworks.

"It could be rum." Bill suggested, "Rum came in barrels."

"Nah, smell that." The Doctor deeply inhaled, "It's their home-made rocket fuel, redeployed as explosive. It's a little reckless, don't you think? Half the fair disappears into the river, the secret of your success won't be a secret anymore."

"Hardly." Sutcliffe scoffed, "The city will pause to mourn a fireworks display gone tragically awry, and the creature will be fed. By spring, this will be a footnote in history. That is progress. They're bringing the elephant out presently. We won't get bigger crowds than that," he turned to his men, "so make sure you're off the ice by noon."

"Noon? There's no way you can keep us here that long." Bill argued, "We'll just scream our heads off."

"Please don't," Star rested her head against the pole as Bill screamed but of course no one could hear her over the shows and applause outside. The henchman left knowing no one would find them.

"Finished?" Marcella inquired as Bill stopped screaming and coughed.

"Now if you don't mind I can get us out."

"So can I," the Doctor countered.

"My way is easier."

"Mines more spectacular!"

"Bare with me." Star grit her teeth as she shifted, managing to toss her dagger out and grabbing it, cutting through the ropes. "See?" She tossed the dagger in her hands, "easy."

He pulled a face as they got up. All of them freezing as the henchman returned, finding them free. "Um..."

"I got this one." Marcella called, sending a firm kick in the mans chest, knocking him out, head against the barrels and quickly tied him up himself, ankles as well. Before she brushed her hands on her pants.

Star whistled, "nice legs...kick!" Her eyes widened slightly, "that was a really good kick."

"Bill." The Doctor called, "Miss Potts? I need you with us. Things to do, Bill. Decisions to make. What are we going to do about Tiny?"

"Tiny?" Bill repeated.

"The creature. The loch-less monster. The not-so-little mermaid."

"Ariel." Star smiled.

"No!"

"Sabastian?"

"No."

She snapped her fingers knowing the perfect name, "Tamatoa!"

"Fine," He huffed.

"We can't leave her trapped down there," Marcella agreed, "it not fair on her."

"We can't set her free." Bill argued, "She could burst up out of the water and eat a hundred people right off of Southbank! She could eat half of London!"

"Or maybe she'll just swim away somewhere away from large populations!" Star countered.

"It's a risk." The Doctor sighed, "So, what do you want to do, Bill?"

"We already know the answers." She shook her head, "Why are you even asking?"

"We don't know the answers. Only idiots know the answers. But if your future is built on the suffering of that creature, what's your future worth?"

"Why is it up to me?"

"Because it's your future." Star answered her, "your people. Your planet. We may walk your earth and breathe your air but this is down to your decision."

"We serve at the pleasure of the human race," the Doctor continued, "and right now, that's you. Give me an order. Not long till noon. We need an order."

Bill shook her head. If they saved her and blew up the ice, she could eat everyone, especially if they couldn't get everyone off the ice in time. But if they left her then Sutcliffe was blowing the ice up anyway and everyone on the ice would be eaten. If they saved her then there was the chance she would just swim around in her new freedom. Decision made. "Save her."

"I'll take care of this. You get everyone off the ice."

"Got it." Star nodded.

~.~

They raced off, using Kitty and the others to spread rumours and make noise that the ice was thawing, how someone had already fallen, it worked for most of the rich and vain people, but the stall owners and showmen seemed less than impressed with them scaring off the crowd, refusing to move and loose their jobs.

"Dottie!" Star stopped her yells as she cried about the thaw, "get off the ice now. I'll deal with this from here." She glanced further down the ice, the girl running to the shore, as Sutcliffe's men prepared the explosions in the middle of the ice, as they all ushered more off, a few stubborn people refusing to leave.

At the shore Sutcliffe designated the bomb but the ice remained intact, for now, the Doctor having changed the explosions to free Tamatoa (a great name for a large sea creature), instead of blowing the ice.

Star watched as he stormed off to find the reason his bombs weren't working as the ice began to crack, a scaly dorsal fin breaking through.

~.~

"Doctor!" Marcella gasped, jumping and hanging onto the wooden dockside as the ice beneath her feet cracked.

"Marcella!" He helped pull her up, "where's Star? Bill?"

"Still on the ice!" She gasped.

~.~

"Bill!" Star called, leaping over a growing crack in the ice and over to the girl as she ran to the side.

"We won't make it!" Bill cried.

"You know what you said about superpowers..." she began, a hand on her shoulder and in an instant they were in the dockside.

"Whoa!" Bill breathed, panting against the poles. "What the hell!"

"Yeah."

"You just..."

"Yeah."

"In the middle of the..."

"Uh huh."

"Alien superpowers!"

"If that's what you want to call it." She muttered.

"You did it!" Bill cheered, the creature swimming past them, "She's free! Go! Where will she go?"

"Somewhere cold, I imagine." The Doctor remarked, "Hopefully, she's smart enough to avoid you lot now."

"What if she isn't? What if we just like, doomed Greenland?"

"We'll check in on Greenland."

"How long is she?!" Bill gushed as she finally passed them splashing them with her tail.

"Lovely." Marcella wiped the water from her face.

"Can you hear that?" Bill gushed able to hear the faint singing from the creature.

"Beautiful." Star smiled, leaning back against Marcella, the girl rolling her eyes and stepping back making Star stumble and pout.

~.~

With Sutcliffe as racist and sexist as he was he had never married and having fallen through the ice himself meant he had no heir to his manor home. Which was why the Doctor sat at a table in the dining room, editing the Last Will and Testament for one of the kids, he recalled a young boy having been living in the streets and so if he was found out to be the lost heir of the family he would get the house and so he and the others wouldn't have to live in the streets.

"Go on." Bill smiled as she led the kids in, ushering them to the set table, "Eat as much as you like." They all raced over and dug in, enjoying every mouthful.

"Er, you, boy!" The Doctor pointed the feather quill at him, "Remind me, what's your name?"

"Perry." He replied through a mouth full of chicken.

"Perry." Kitty called, "His name's Perry." She frowned, suspicious, "why?"

"Lord Sutcliffe's long-lost heir can't be a girl." Star tutted in distaste. At least the 21st century was slightly better in racism and sexism than the regency era. Still not perfect. For some reasons humans would always have an issue genders and skin colours.

But at least the boy wouldn't abandon his friends in the streets when he knew how tough it could be. All of them would be comfortable and well fed here.

It was the least they could do seeing how they hadn't been able to save their friend.

~.~

"We must have changed something, right?" Bill shook her head as they materialised back in the Doctors office, quickly getting her phone on to search for any changed information, "I mean, people saw a monster in the Thames." She glanced around the room, "Well, it doesn't look any different. I don't get it. London, 1814. Monster, sea creature, serpent, really, really big fish. Nothing. I don't understand. How could it not have been headline news?"

"Humans for you." Marcella reasoned, "If you don't understand it, you over look it."

"And there was a lot of day drinking," Star added.

"May I?" The Doctor searched information on her phone, bringing up an article Bill would like, "You can always rely upon the papers to miss a headline."

"'Lord Sutcliffe drowns in snap thaw.'" Bill read, "'Shock as steel fortune is passed to street urchin! The new Lord Sutcliffe was found starving on London's streets. The inheritance was contested, everyone got super mad, blah, blah, blah, Urchin boy deemed legitimate. Oh my God, it worked!" She gushed, "You did it. You saved them."

"You did. You gave the order, boss."

"Right!" Star cut in, "vault! Best check on it."

"We really shouldn't have left the fault in the first place." Marcella hissed as they left the office and headed down to the vault in the basement.

"You didn't have to stay." Star rolled her eyes, "god knows how many vortex manipulators are hiding in the console room alone."

"Oh, I hate them." She moaned.

"Face it, Mars. You enjoyed it. Come on, seeing history first hand is far better than just watching from afar," she laughed at the girls silent, stoic face, "I knew it! You're enjoying this."

She cleared her throat, "we still shouldn't have left the vault."

"We were barely 5 minutes. What's the worst that could..." she trailed and nodded at Marcella's raised eyebrow, "fair point."

They both looked at the vault doors as something thumped on the doors on the other side, 3 times.

"Don't interrupt out conversations!" Star snapped, "it's rude!"

"You're rude!" Marcella sighed.

She turned to her, ignoring more knocking, "that's not the point!" She spun back to the doors at more knocking, "don't get cocky! You know nothing!" She sneered.

"And you're not coming out." Marcella agreed, the pair leaving again seeing the doors were safe and still locked.

Ignoring the four additional bangs.


	4. Knock knock

"Reading by candle light?" Star raised an eyebrow as she sat in the sofa opposite the one Marcella curled up on in one of the many library's in the TARDIS, the fire burning along with the candle Star had gotten Marcella burning a light blue.

Marcella didn't look up from her book, "the lights went out and I didn't want to put my book down."

"What are you reading?"

"A song of fire and ice."

"Game of thrones?" Star smirked, "didn't think you'd move to Earth books so quickly."

Marcella looked up quickly from her page to glare at her and them quickly adverted her eyes to the book again, "couldn't find any books in Gallifreyan."

"No, they're all in their own library near the architectural reconfiguration system."

"Are the humans you love so much not worthy of our language?" Marcella teased, finishing her chapter and putting the book down.

"More they can't understand our language and explaining that they can't possibly learn it like French is so time consuming and boring!"

"You've read it then? Game of thrones?"

"Seen the TV show." She shrugged.

"You cannot compare books to TV shows!" Marcella reached over and whacked her up the head making Star rub her head but laugh.

"Anyway, Bill asked for help moving house and dad agreed. Though he didn't know what he was agreeing on first so...we're helping Bill move house."

"This is not what TARDISes are for." Marcella deadpanned. Moving houses, cheap tricks to mess with people's minds, watching shows and movies from ahead of their times, meeting their favourite historical figures. Not what they were for.

~.~

"Right on time!" Star announced as they landed in Bills room, materialising around her boxes, the woman having given them a time to come, her belongings already packed in boxes for the move. "Right on!" She held a hand up to high five Marcella, the two having been the ones to pilot. Marcella stared at the hand, "come on, don't leave me hanging." Marcella shook her head as Star lowered her hand, pouting.

"That's all you've got?" The Doctor frowned as Bill entered, "I thought you'd have loads."

"Thanks for helping, yeah?" She beamed. When she had asked them to help her move she hadn't expected them to actually agree. Thought they'd probably some rules against it or something but the Doctor had agreed to help and so they settled on the time. And it was so much easier than carrying all the boxes down stairs and into a taxi and then trailing them from the taxi to her new bedroom. More expensive too. "You should hire this out, like a removal service."

"Removals? Bill, we're Time Lords..."

"Time Lord?" Bill scoffed, "What's that, your job?"

"No. It's, er, our people," he explained, picking up the dark stuffed bear Bill was taking with her, "our species."

"Doesn't sound like a species. Sounds posh, like, yes, my lord. Doff my cap."

"It's more of a rank," Star added, "Gallifreyan is technically the species but once you graduate you become a Time Lord, or Lady." Technically both she and Marcella were both still Gallifreyans but it was far too much effort to keep having to explain that to everyone they met.

"Oh, well, that's why I gave it up." The Doctor remarked, "Ran away."

It was just so them to open the academy despite all what had happened, and so quickly too.

"Time Lords." Bill laughed, "That's hilarious. Do you wear robes and big hats?"

"Big billowing robes," Star agreed, "and dreadful hats."

"Er, it was big collars mostly." The Doctor commented, grimacing at the reminder. He had worn them before. So long ago, but he had still worn them.

"Do you want the postcode?" Bill asked.

"Sorry?"

"To find the house."

"Bill, the TARDIS uses multi-dimensional space-time coordinates."

"So you know where it is?"

"Ok, right, put the postcode in here." He gestured to the monitor as she moved round to type the postcode in. It wasn't something they did often, usually it was a crash landing on accident that they ended up at a companions house, or they had been the ones to give it to them or they had simply traced the person living there. Didn't really need postcodes.

"Saw the bedroom." She remarked, "Do you sleep here?"

"Not in here," Star gestured around the console, "I sleep on a bed, usually Marcella does too. Unless she falls asleep in the library."

"Which happens far more often than I'd like to admit." Marcella sighed, "I always wake up with a blanket over me though," she frowned, suspicious.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at the pair. Whenever he went to bed he got ignored and didn't see anyone for a few hours, but if Marcella went or Star herself, they nod each other goodnight, every time. No mistake. And multiple times he had gone to the library for late night reading to find Star putting a blanket over a sleeping Marcella. If he fell asleep in the library he'd awake to find his coat missing as Star needed something from his pockets.

"Done?" The Doctor asked as Bill finished imputed the postcode and he set the TARDIS off.

"How often do you sleep?" Bill wondered. "Cuz like you're from a different planet so do you need more sleep or less?"

"Sleep's for tortoises."

"Not Time Lords?"

"No! Unless we've regenerated or had a big lunch."

"Regenerated?" She frowned at that.

"Oh, the questions, the questions, the questions." He waved her off, "Just remember Time Lords. That's enough for now."

"We really need to start tell people about regeneration." Star muttered.

"You don't?" Marcella raised an eyebrow at that. Considering the pair of them had regenerated in front of companions before. She expected they would have mentioned it in more detail. Especially how humans didn't know about it.

She shook her head, "sometimes." She told a lot to Rory about it, and he passed that information on to Amy. And with Clara, well, she knew of it, but seeing it was surprising for her at first. Apparently Vastra had needed words with her.

"Oh, here we are." The Doctor called as they materialised.

Bill grabbed a couple of boxes following the Doctor outside onto the street before the old large house with iron gates, large trees surrounding it giving it that eery feel even in the daylight. The tower didn't help make it feel any homelier.

"Oh, we'll use the TARDIS, take it all to your room." The Doctor remarked as Star and Marcella followed with a box each.

"Firstly, I don't know which one my room is."

Bill countered, "And secondly, that's weird and I want to make a good impression. It's cool, I'll just, er, get everything out of the TARDIS and then you can go. Thanks for the lift, though! Bye!"

"That's your house?" Marcella stared up at it.

"Sharing, yeah. Six of us, renting."

"You look at this house and not one of you thought, 'oh, look a traditional haunted house, let's buy it.'"

"Students," Star shrugged, setting a box down on the ground, "let me guess, it was cheap."

"Yeah. I was like, what's the catch," Bill agreed, "but, actually, it's fine, just a bit draughty."

"Draughty?" The Doctor repeated, wetting and finger and holding it up to check for wind.

"I meant draughty inside."

"Interesting." The Doctor mused, there was very little wind, next to nothing, "we'll help you in."

"No, no, no. It's fine." Bill shook her head, "You really don't have to. It's not..."

"Oh, don't sound so ashamed of us." Star smirked, "I'd hate to stab you." She winked at Bill as she and Marcella walked up to the clearly haunted house with a box each.

"Really not a problem." The Doctor grinned, following them with more boxes and Bill sighed and headed after them with the last of her stuff.

"Hey. Where have you been?" A lovely young Indian woman headed over as they stepped into the spacious entrance hall, "I thought," she trailed noticing the additional three, "Ah, you're the Doctor." She wasn't quite sure who the other two were but had seen them around the university, usually reading under a tree most of the time. She just assumed they were other students, didn't expect Bill to know them.

"Yes. Hi." The Doctor replied, "Can I get past?" He squeezed past, further into the house.

"Er yes, they're just helping with the move."

"Helping?" Bills friend frowned.

"Yeah, um, he's Stars dad," she nodded to the girl who was peeking into the main living room, "and er, Marcella, her girlfriend," the girl was staring at the wooden walls, "she's my sister."

"I didn't know you had a sister."

"Neither did i until recently."

"How exciting is this?" Another girl came bounding down the stairs with two boys, one very quite tall.

"Oh, wow. Doctor." The smaller boy held a hand for a high five, "Legend." He lowered it at the Doctors look, "Stars, how was the hangover."

"Didn't have a hangover." She mumbled.

"Wait, wait, what hangover?" The Doctor interrupted,

"Star got into a fight at the bar at the weekend and ended up challenging some guy to a drinking competition where he ended up throwing up and I had to drag her out before the barman called the police." Marcella explained, slowly spinning around for a look at the house.

"Mars!" Star whined, "Why did you have to tell him that!"

"All right." Bill cut in, seeing the Doctors face at what Star had gotten up to at the weekend and she really didn't need to hear his complaining, "You really can go now, though. Thanks for the help. Job done." She took the box from him as Marcella dropped hers on the table to the side.

"Ok. Bye."

"Bye." Bill waved, as they left and headed down the drive to the TARDIS.

"Really?" The Doctor huffed as soon as she shut the doors behind them.

"Like you've never done it!" She laughed, "He started it! I just put him in his place."

"I doubt he'll be getting into any more bar fights for a while." Marcella did feel the need to agree. Always on Stars side, unless she really was in the wrong. But she wasn't in the wrong. The guy was loud and rowdy and the barman asked him to leave but he didn't so Star took matters into her own hands, challenging to a drinking competition and looser had to leave. He may have ended up in hospital for alcohol poisoning but he could have stopped at any time and admitted defeat. Earth alcohol was so weak, Star was just slightly tipsy when she took her back.

~.~

They had gone back to the house that evening, the Doctor looking in the small cupboard in the kitchen for anything suspicious. The house its self wasn't right, they didn't know what. But it was too cheap to students to be able to avoid and the tower. It gave that eery vibe. And then there was the trees, they had been trying to warn them.

Star sat drinking a cup of coffee on the middle of the kitchen table as Marcella peeked out of the windows, looking out into the darkness, squinting to see if anything was going to be wandering around.

She was a girl of facts and figures and only believed in things she saw with her own eyes, like how ghosts didn't exist. But even she knew not to buy a house like this that was so cheap and hadn't been lived in years. That was a big no, no.

She glanced over her shoulder as Bill and her friends entered, whispering nervously to each other, clearly they have been hearing the Doctor in the pantry and gotten jumpy thinking of ghosts and monsters in a haunted house.

They completely ignored her and Star, the girl smirking in amusement.

"Maybe it's just the central heating?" Shireen suggested as Bill opened the doors to find the Doctor there, sonic out and scanning around.

He turned to face them, "There isn't any."

"I thought..." Bills other friend, Felicity, frowned.

"They'd gone home." Bill sighed, "Me, too. Isn't any what?"

"Central heating. We've been looking around, inside and out. Very interesting. Lots of wood."

"We?" Bill repeated.

"Well, there is three of us." Star called from the table, taking a sip of her coffee, "you need a coffee machine in this place. From the kettle is just..." she stuck her tongue out. It was never as good.

"Er, why are you still here?" Bill demanded, having really not noticed Star or Marcella in the middle of the kitchen. How have they missed that?

"Do you know what that is?" He held up a small oil burning lantern, "That's an oil-burning heater. You might need it. There's no washing machine either. The hob is from the 30s."

Bill handed the heater to the Harry, "Thanks very much."

"The power sockets will not take your devices." He nodded to the outlet in the wall, nearly ever socket plugged into it, nothing charging.

"Oh, I thought it was just my room." Shireen laughed.

"No, no, no. They're out of date. What's that smell? Is that Chinese food? I love Chinese."

"Did he just get distracted by food?" Marcella closed her eyes.

Star nodded, glancing at bill, "any fortune cookies left? I love laughing at them."

Bill stared at her, unamused, "There might be a few old things, but it just needs updating. It's not like there's some massive mystery going on."

"Did you hear the trees creaking outside when we arrived?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah. It was the wind."

"There wasn't any wind. You should find another house."

"Mmm, I don't think so." Shireen shook her head.

"The rooms are really big." Harry added.

"Exactly." Paul nodded, "And it's still the best place for the money. I'll just call the landlord, sort it out." He turned and headed into the main living room to grab his phone as everyone followed him.

"You can't. No reception." Shireen pointed out.

"Ok, so I'll go down the hill. Oh, hi."

They all turned seeing a creepy looking old man with grey hair in a suit standing in the corner.

"Didn't hear you come in." The girl eyed him.

"For a man such as myself, discretion is second nature." He remarked slowly, "So, a gathering. You're all here. No, except one."

"Pavel's upstairs." Shireen explained.

"And three in addition." The landlord eyed the trio.

"He's the Doctor." Harry told him, "she's Star and Marcella."

"Doctor?" The landlord turned his gaze to him as he helped himself to a prawn cracker from the table.

"Family friends." Bill offered.

"You're assisting with the relocation?"

"Yeah," Star smiled, "cuz Bills my..."

"Marcella's sister." The woman gave her a look.

"It's a heart-breaking experience," the landlord continued, "to leave one's charge behind, all alone in the big wide world."

"Indeed, yes." The Doctor murmured, eying the man as he rubbed one of the wood panels on the wall, "You got children?"

He knew what it was like when the children left home, the TARDIS had been so very quiet and lonely without Star. It was far too quiet. But she was back now. Maybe not by the reasoned he would have liked. But she was back and brought Marcella and the TARDIS was loud again.

"I, yes, a daughter." The man nodded, "But I'm most fortunate, she's still under my protection. So long as that's the case, I'm most content. So, I was calling to see if everything' s satisfactory?"

"Actually, there are a few things." Felicity called.

"Yes, I see. Go on."

"No central heating?"

"The power sockets are wrong." Shireen called.

"And a landline." Paul added.

"Some new furniture." Harry said.

"I need some curtains," Felicity continued again, "carpets."

"Have you got a cat?" Bill asked.

"OOh, I love cats!" Star gushed, "he hates them." She jerked her head at the Doctor.

"You try being threatened by a cat nun," he rolled his eyes, "see how you go from there."

"A cat?" The landlord frowned at her.

"Er, er, yeah. Er, Harry said that he heard some, some noise upstairs, like walking around?"

"No cats. No pets. You understand I won't be able to do any of this tonight. But as soon as possible, yes. Knock on wood." He knocked on the wood panelling and it creaked in response, "Do what I can."

"That's another thing." Shireen called, "This house is really creaky. Everything you touch, it's like uuuurrr!" She imitated the creaking of the wood.

"It's unavoidable, my dear."

"How do you get into the tower?" Harry questioned.

"You don't." The landlord turned sharply to him, "the tower is specifically excluded from the terms of our agreement."

"Oh, right, well, thank you. No tower. Got it."

"Why?" Marcella called, "why is no one allowed in the tower."

"It's part of the contract."

"Any particular reason?" Star wondered, grabbing a prawn cracker herself and noisily eating it.

He didn't answer, giving a question of his own, "Oh, are you staying here tonight?"

"Yeah." The Doctor replied.

"Er no, he's not," Bill shook her head. "They're not."

"Well, I'm not sure."

"There's no reason to."

"We probably will."

"There isn't a bed, so..."

"Marcella makes a great pillow which is all I need." Star grinned.

"I don't get a choice in this matter." Marcella stated.

"If you hated it, you wouldn't let me do it so...you like it." Star stuck her tongue out as Marcella rolled her eyes. She was right. They both knew it.

"All right." The landlord nodded slowly and headed out, the floorboards creaking with every step.

"Sorry, excuse me." The Doctor followed him making the man looked back at him, "Sorry, sorry, sorry. Who, um, who's the Prime Minister?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Margaret Thatcher? Harriet Jones? Wilson? Eden?"

"I think it's better to leave your little friend here with her friends. You, your daughter and her friend can go. They seem respectable, and I'll keep an eye, of course." He smiled tapping a fork against the wood panel, "I'll attend to your requirements in the morning. In the meantime, sleep well." He rested the fork on the panel making it hum before leaving.

"I take it back." Felicity frowned after him. "You're fine. He's weird."

"Oh! The washing machine!" Shireen stood and quickly moved to follow him, returning a few minutes later with a frown on her face. "He's not there."

They all paused and looked up at the scuttling, very fast scuttling from upstairs, "That's it!" Harry gasped, "That's the noise I heard."

"Fascinating." The Doctor mused, following the sound and putting his hand on one of the panels where it seemed to end up, the scuttling stopping instantly.

"It's just pipes." Paul reasoned, "I'm going to bed."

"Yeah." Bill agreed, "Might go up, as well."

"Me, too." Felicity murmured, "Locking my door though."

"Er, sis?" Bill looked at Marcella who rolled her eyes, "Hello. Yeah. Perhaps you lot should leave now?"

"No, no, we're fine." The Doctor waved her off.

"Or at least then, go and er, sleep outside, in the car."

"Ah, come on," Star pouted, "we'll be good." The Doctor scoffed, "for once."

"Er, are you two tired?" The Doctor spun to Harry and Felicity

"Well, I was..."

"Good. No, I'm going to hang about with Simon."

"Harry."

"And Florence."

"Felicity. Yeah, why?"

"Well, we're gonna, we're gonna chill. Yeah?" Was that the word? He was sure he and heard Star use it before.

"Yeah." Felicity nodded, "Ok, yes!" She was just glad she wouldn't have been alone in the dark house.

"Put some tunes on, yes?"

"Yes."

"All right." Harry finally gave in.

"See?" The Doctor beamed, "I'm good at making friends. Phone." He held his hand out as Star handed over her phone, the one Clara had given them. She doubted he knew where she got it from.

He got onto the music app, selecting shuffle as Let It Go played, "no!" He quickly changed it to Cherry Bomb. "I love this."

"Do you know who this is?" Felicity frowned, it was quite old.

"It's on Guardians of the Galaxy," Star beamed, twirling around Marcella. It was the reason she downloaded it, Guardians of the Galaxy was Marvels and Marvels was owned by Disney.

"Can I have a word, please?" Bill asked not waiting for an answer as she pulled Star and the Doctor out into the hallway for privacy, Marcella loyally following. "Honestly, Doctor, there's nothing going on. Nothing weird, nothing alien. Just an old house and a dodgy landlord, which is pretty standard for students. I'll see you later for more exciting TARDIS action, but, basically, this is the bit of my life that you're not in. Do you know what I mean?"

"I know what you mean."

"Thanks."

"Be careful keeping your life's separate." Star mumbled, "It gets stressful."

"So, up the wooden hill you go." The Doctor gestured Bill up the stair, "Sleep well. Maybe before you do, you should check on your friend who hasn't been seen for a day, and who has strange music coming out of his room."

"They said he just does that." Bill saved off.

"Nobody just does anything."

She sighed, "You're not leaving, are you?"

"No. Your friend will probably be fine. Knock on wood." He knocked in the wood panels as Bill, Shireen and Paul went up as lightning flashed.

"Shall we go exploring?" Star suggested, linking her arms with Marcella.

"And look for secret passages and ghosts and ghouls," she agreed mockingly.

"Have you got anything other than Disney songs?" Harry poked his head out into the hallway.

"I doubt it." The Doctor murmured as he watched Star and Marcella walk off to explore.

~.~

"Oh, come on!" Star pouted as they moved upstairs and searched every nook and cranny for a secret passage or something that would explain why the house was so creepy and cheap. And that landlord, he was certainly weird and disturbing.

They hadn't found anything yet.

And so moved upstairs, blocking out the violin recording from down the corridor at Bills friend Pavels room. They glanced at each other, curious to check it out if he was ok. It was all well and good Bill being told it was a thing he did. But there was definitely something weird in this house. And they'd find out what it was.

They glanced back not scared, just annoyed as the shutters in the window behind them.

Marcella moved to reopen them but they wouldn't budge, "looks like were stuck here tonight them."

"It is just that one that lock, thought, right?" Star asked as Marcella moved down to the next window finding that one also shut, "I don't do enclosed spaces. I'm fine when I know I can get in and out but when I can't get out. I don't..."

Marcella turned her gaze to Star, watching as she backed away to the wall behind her, her chest rising far too quickly, "Star...are you ok?"

"I...I can't...I can't be trapped. My hearts are beating twice as fast as they should be." She blinked rapidly trying to focus on Marcella. She knew what this was, happened often enough to know it and deal with it. But Marcella was going dizzy, her eyesight was failing her. She needed to focus. That was the Doctor said, keep focus on one certain detail to keep control.

Marcella crouched down before her, keeping eye contact. She knew what this was. A panic attack. "You know what this is," she murmured getting a short nod from Star as she inhaled short and sharp. "Look at me, focus on me. Breathe. Breathe with me, inhale," she slowly breathed in as Star tried to copy her, "exhale." She slowly breathed out along with Star, "inhale...exhale..." she continued to breathe deeply as Star followed, her breathing shallowing to a safer rate as she calmed down, "you're fine. We'll get out. We've got air. You're ok." She slowly raised and wiped away the tears that had fallen down Stars cheeks, resting her forehead against Stars, the girl leaning closer. "Are you ok?"

Star slowly nodded against Marcella's head, "I don't like being trapped."

"I know."

"I'm ok now."

"If I have to, I'll kick the wall down for you."

"Oh stop it," Star managed a small smile that Marcella returned.

"Want to continue exploring?"

"I could do with a drink." She admitted, taking the bottle of water Marcella pulled out from her inside coat pocket. She didn't have outside pockets, claimed it ruined the look and so kept the inner pockets trans dimensional to fit everything in. Including a bottle of water it seemed. Star took a deep breath as she finished the water, "I'm good." She stood up with help from Marcella offered hand, swallowing at her glance of concern as they walked off again down the corridor and to a bookcase at the end.

"From where the tower was situated outside, this should be where the door is."

"So secret passageway," Star smirked meekly.

"And as we didn't sign the contract, we didn't agree to stay out."

"I love it when you skim past the rules. It's so...devious."

"I know." She pulled the books out one-by-one, one tilting as she pulled it, the bookcase sliding over to reveal the staircases to the tower, "I love being right all the time." She led the way up the wooden staircase, tugging Star with her, her hand tightly grasped on Stars wrist, as she pushed the wooden door open and stepped inside the small abandoned bedroom that clearly hadn't been used for a long time. Seemed the last owners of the house hadn't been allowed in the tower either. Not that it was a very big room, only containing a small bed, cabinet and dressing table. The shutters closed like the rest of the house.

Star moved to open the shutters, but stopped at the creaky floorboards, frowning hearing the creaking from another area. "That wasn't me," she murmured as the creaking continued from behind the dressing screens, hand ready, hovering over her pocket she moved forwards, "who's there?"

A wooden hand appeared around the screen followed by a young woman completed wooden, "you're not father."

"Er, no." Star agreed, "I'm Star. This is Marcella."

"My names Eliza."

"Pleasure." Marcella gave a short curt nod.

"I'm pleased to meet you too." The woman's wooden face moved into a smile, "it's been so long since I've had any visitors."

"Well that must be...lonely." Star frowned.

"Father said it's for the best. We must survive." A rather large bug with glowing antennae crawled out of the woman's mouth. Marcella gasped as stepped further back. Bugs and insects were never something she was fond off, "what?"

"May I..." Star hesitated to reach for the large, clearly not from Earth, woodlice that crawled around the woman's face, cautiously holding it in her hand, her other hand out for the sonic but she didn't receive it, "Mars?" She glanced at the girl who stood back, stiff, "sonic. It's just a bug. It's not going to kill you."

"You'd better not touch it," Marcella muttered tossing her the sonic as Star scanned the bug.

When the door burst open and Bill and her friend Shireen ran in having found the secret door themselves.

Star cursed as she dropped the bug from her surprise, said bug scuttling along the floor where Shireen quickly stomped on it.

"Cockroaches. Had them on my gap year in Morocco..." she trailed as she noticed Eliza.

"What's going on?" Bill asked slowly.

"Bill, Eliza." Star introduced, "Eliza, Bill and Shireen."

Shireen screamed, making them all look at her to see the bug she had stepped on was crawling up her leg, from inside her, "oh no! It's in my foot!"

Marcella stepped further away as a swarm of bugs engulfed the young woman, who screamed as disappeared as the bugs dispersed.

"Shireen!" Bill cried as Eliza glowed for a moment as Shireen disappeared.

"It's just a bug, she says," Marcella mocked bitterly as she shook her head, "it's not going to kill you, she says."

"I get your point." Star glared.

"I...I don't understand..." Bill swallowed thickly at the fact that her friend was lost. Was gone right before her eyes.

"It's upsetting, I understand." Eliza reached out in comfort but didn't step any closer, "But Father says we have to survive.

"Eliza," the door opened and the landlord stepped in leading the Doctor with him, alone. The other two gone, "do not fear this man. He says he might be able to make you well."

"Bill," the Doctor looked at her, knowing she had been with her friends and now was with Star and Marcella, "how are you?"

"Yeah, yeah," she blinked back tears, "I'm ok. Shireen…"

"The, bugs." Star offered, waving the sonic around, "space bugs."

"Harry, too. Um, in brief, he's her dad." He gestured to the landlord and Eliza, "He's been keeping her alive with the bugs for about 70 years. Your friends are the food. I said that I could help. Now, you must be Eliza." He smiled at her, "How are you feeling? Rotten?"

"I am quite well." She returned, oblivious to his little pun.

"Administer your treatment, Doctor." The landlord ordered.

"Well, what's the medical history here?" He questioned, "What happened? Eliza, you were very ill?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Yes? The doctors had, er, given up on you, but then one day your father brings you a present. Where did you find them? What, on the roof? In the garden?" The landlord nodded, "You find the insects. You bring them into the house because you want to show them to her, presumably just to just to amuse her. You couldn't have known what they were."

"Can you help her or not?" The landlord demanded, growing impatient.

"I am helping. This is me helping. How did you find out their unique abilities? Did you bring them in here? You brought them in here, right, but what activated them? You use a tuning fork now, but..."

"Pavel had that record on." Bill offered helpfully, "A violin?"

"High-pitched sounds." The Doctor nodded.

"Yes." The Doctor moved to the bedside table where a music box sat, a soft song playing as he opened it and the space life scuttled out of the floorboard, "Soothes her to sleep. High-pitched sound. You leave your daughter alone for the night, or so you believe." Marcella moved back as Bill stepped on the cabinet, away from the lice that had killed her friends, "The music wakes them. They set to work, and in the morning, you find her revitalised, just slightly wooden. You realise there's a way she can survive."

"No, sorry," Star shook her head at that, "explain that again."

The Doctor shut the music box, turning to her, "why?"

"70 years ago, yeah?" She confirmed, "but she," she nodded to Eliza, "hadn't aged since, while he is..." she flashed the sonic at the landlord, "is 100% human. So 70 years ago..."

"And why would pick up insects from the garden and bring them in to see his ill daughter," Bill wondered.

"Everyone loves insects." The Doctor defended

"I don't!" Marcella yelled.

"Seriously? They're fascinating."

"No, they are not."

"Can I continue?!" Star huffed, "Eliza is a young woman, which means 70 years ago she would have been a young woman. But! 70 years ago, he would have been a child."

"Oh," the Doctor blinked, "I forget, you see, your human lifespan, it's, it's not long, is it. What do you remember of the past, Eliza?"

"My father," she began slowly, "he knows what's best."

"Yes, the lice preserve the appearance and the voice, but not so much the memories. He's not your father, am I right?"

"No!" The Landlord glared, "Stop talking!"

"Father, what's the matter?" Eliza shook her head, "I don't understand."

"A child would have loved the idea to bring in the insects he had played with in the garden," Star told her, "especially as a distraction having been sent outside by the doctors failing to save his mother! See?" She turned to Marcella, "my mouth just talks and then my brain catches up."

"His mother?" Eliza repeated.

"Eliza, he's your son." The Doctor said gently, "Your loving son."

"My son?"

"Forgive me." The landlord wept softly at the truth, "Forgive me."

"When you saw what the creatures had done, you understood, didn't you? The lice could keep your mother alive if you protected them, tamed them, fed them."

"If you could save the one who brought you into this world, wouldn't you?"

"Well..." Star was ready to debate. She hadn't even tried to save her mother. Or known of her death until too late. And the Doctor refused to take her regenerations. She had offered, only because she knew he'd refuse.

"I did what you told me because I thought you knew best." Eliza frowned at her son, "But I...I am your mother?"

"Yes." he nodded solemn.

"And you, all these children you've taken. You told me it was necessary, that we had no choice."

"That's right, it was. It meant we could stay together. Don't you understand? We were happy! I kept our lives a secret, and a secret we must remain." He moved closer, taking her wooden hands in his own as he glanced back at the Doctor, "You have brought her nothing but misery and confusion! You will be taken, like the others!" He moved and shut the door, tapping the fork against the wall to bring out the space life.

Marcella gave a yell as the insects began to circle around her feet, she really did not like insects, especially killing ones. "Get rid of them!"

"Ok, now's the time for the plan." Bill agreed, still standing on the cabinet away from the insects. She wasn't keen in the insects that had killed her friends and were now planning to kill them either.

"That was it," the Doctor sighed, "no plan. Info dump, then busk."

"Well, start busking."

"Eliza," he called to her, "people have died and will continue to die unless you stop all this right now."

"How can I stop it?" She countered.

"You're the parent." Star reminded her. "You're the one in charge!

Eliza nodded slowly, realising that she the parent despite having forgotten that over the years. She reached her hands out and the insects separated into two groups.

"Do what I say!" The landlord yelled, taping the wall with his fork again, "I control you!"

"No. It's me." Eliza corrected the insect began to move back into the wood, "I control them."

"Eliza, finish them now. Take them, or you'll die! They'll destroy you!"

"Hiding away for everyone and everything is not living!" Star argued, "when was the last time you opened the shutters? Felt the sun in your face?"

Eliza turned to the window as the shutters flew open to reveal the fireworks in the sky from the park a short distance away.

"It's the freshers' party in the park." Bill smiled.

"Exactly." The Doctor agreed, "New friends, fireworks. That's what life should be."

"I remember." Eliza breathed turning back to the group, "My son, leave my side at last. Go and see the world."

"No, I don't want to!" He cried, "If you won't finish them, I will!"

But Eliza grabbed his wrist, "John! My little boy, this has to end."

"No, we mustn't end," he struggled as the lice crawled down Eliza's arm and onto him. "We have to destroy them."

"It's our time." She murmured, pulling him close.

"No, I don't want to! No, no."

"Thank you." Eliza smiled over her sobbing son at them as the lice covered them and they were gone like Bills friends.

"Can we go now?" Marcella demanded.

"Yeah, I don't think this place will last much longer," Star muttered.

"Is that?" Bill stared at the floor where the lice scuttled around, a hand reaching out.

"Yes, your friend. She's restoring them!" The Doctor exclaimed, reaching g to help pull Shireen to her feet, "Come on."

"I thought you were gone." Bill hugged her tightly.

"Are you ok?" Shireen gasped.

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. What about the others?"

"Come on!" The Doctor led them off back downstairs, Bills friends joining them after being restored and they ran outside meeting Felicity as they stood and stared from the drive as the house fell to crumbled and dust.

"My first place didn't work out either," Star offered, patting Bills shoulder as she passed into the TARDIS parked outside the gates and headed in as everyone stared, crestfallen at their house.

There went their deposit.

~.~

"Stop it!" Star finally snapped at Marcella as the pair were left alone in the TARDIS. The Doctor having nipped out to get Mexican food from a nearby takeaway while Bill had gone back to her foster mothers.

She had kept quiet all night but she couldn't do it any longer. The glances and hesitations. She hated it.

"Stop what?" Marcella frowned at her.

"Looking at me like I'm going to break when you touch me!"

"I'm..."

"I have panic attacks so what! I deal with them! And people learn how to help calm me down when I have them. But I am not breakable just because I loose control over my own body. I am not made of glass, Kikashe! I am not going to shatter at the slightest touch."

"You're being ridiculous."

"I'm stating the facts."

"Well then I'm sorry."

"What?" Star blinked.

"I'm sorry I look at you like your weak. I know better than that. You can't help them, but I'd like to help you. I am always here for you, you know that, and if I ever say anything, do anything that makes you feel bad, tell me. Tell me what I'm doing wrong so I can work on it."

"Thank you," Star murmured, resting her head against Marcella's, "can you just…just talk to me like normal. Don't make me feel any different than I already do."

"I can do that." She smiled into Stars hair.

~.~

The Doctor headed down into the basement with the vault to find Star with her head against the vault doors, knees to her chest as he walked over with the bags of takeaway he collected.

"Marcella mentioned the panic attack."

"Of course she did." Star grumbled. "She acts like she know everything but she really doesn't! And hates being told otherwise. Shes so insufferable!" She exclaimed, her head shooting up to look at him, "she's just so stuck up. I just want to..." she gestured wildly with her arms, letting out a frustrated noise, "strangle her sometimes." She finally settled on.

Somehow the Doctor didn't think that was what she originally wanted to say.

"Want to talk about it?" He sat down besides her. For now, diner could wait. Sometimes Mexican food tasted better when cold anyway.

"The shutters closed on their own. And I just...couldn't scream." She sighed, resting her head against the doors.

"She seemed to know what she was doing. Panic attacks in the Academy?"

That certainly couldn't have been nice. In the academy they made you work even if you were ill, the only time you got out of lesson was if you were unconscious or physically throwing up.

Behind the doors came a small tune from Beethoven on a piano from inside the vault.

"Yes, we hear you!" Star snapped, banging on the doors. "We were having a moment, which you just ruined. As per usual."

"Sometime I wonder who starts the arguments," the Doctor sighed, "then you do things like this." He stood and gently tapped on the vault doors, "we've got Mexican." Silence, "Look, I know you miss it all, but we're stuck here too, you know? We're are prisoners. So what do you say, dinner? And I've got a new story for you, too. There's a haunted house and woodlice from space." They were left with silence.

"Young people got eaten." Star smirked at the time of Pop! Goes the weasel.

Dinner with the family was the perfect distraction that she needed right now.


	5. Oxygen

"Space!" The Doctor cheered in the TARDIS console room, "Going to space is exactly like camping."

"Is it?" Bill glanced down from where she was reading a book from the upper gallery.

"No, it isn't!" Star called from the other side of the upper gallery, she and Marcella having been talking amongst themselves.

"Well, in a way, yes." the Doctor countered.

"No." Marcella argued.

"Ever been camping?" he asked her.

"No."

"Well there you go."

"Have you?" She countered.

Star laughed at his silence.

"Great." Bill smiled, not quite sure where this conversation was heading. She was only in the TARDIS in the first place because she wanted to borrow a book for his class. And now they were apparently heading off something in deep space. Awesome.

"Too much between you and the outside and you might as well stay home." The Doctor continued, "To really feel it, you need the space equivalent of a wafer-thin sleeping bag and a leaky two-man tent. So, pick a campsite."

"Got any reviews?" She wondered, walking down the stairs and joining him at the monitor.

"What?"

"You know, like for restaurants. Waiter was a bit handsy, lasagne gave me the trots. Two stars."

"Lovely planet..." Star began.

"Shame we had to run for our life's..." Marcella added.

"Otherwise a pleasant day out..."

"3 stars."

"Would still go again."

"Yeah." Bill smiled.

"Strangely, no." The Doctor frowned. That would probably come in handy.

"Oh, I don't know." Bill looked at the monitor, the selection of galaxies they could go to, "That one." She pressed one at random.

"Ah, yes, well, possibly we could go there, pitch our tent next to the toilet block. How about something a bit more exciting?"

Bill rolled her eyes and moved her finger over the screen before picking one at random making it beep and glow red.

"What's that?" Bill frowned

"That is my theme tune." The Doctor grinned, "Otherwise known as a distress call."

"You like distress calls?" Bill raised an eyebrow.

"You only really see the true face of the universe when it's asking for your help."

"Awesome!" Star cheered, moving to send them off.

"Whoa!" Marcella cut in, "what about the vault?"

"Oh here we go." The Doctor rolled his eyes.

She narrowed her eyes at him, noticing Stars pout. "You leave Star and I to do the return trip," she pointed at him, "we come back 5 minutes later," she pointed at Star, "or else..."

"Or else what?" She smirked.

"I haven't decided yet. But it won't be pretty."

"Er, right..." Star shifted at her warning gaze, "back within 5 mins or else. Got it."

~.~

Marcella poked her head out into the dark corridor, scanning around, cautious as always, rolling her eyes as Star walked past her onto the space station, not a care about the danger.

"There's no air." She frowned at the result.

"What?" Bill stopped at that, "Well, how come we're breathing?"

"Air shell around the TARDIS." The Doctor replied, stepping out last, "Now there's a really big air shell around the TARDIS."

"How big?"

He flicked his sonic on as the lights came on around the entire section of the space station, "Big enough for a stroll."

"Can't stand these enigmatic types." Marcella grumbled.

"Nah, just depends on the person doesn't it?" Star winked, draping an arm over Marcellas shoulder and following the Doctor down another corridor.

Marcella scowled after her but didn't correct her. It really did depend of who the person was. She found it amazing when Star took charge, so empowering and a little bit se...badass. Star was badass.

"Why aren't we floating?" Bill questioned. There was no gravity in space, and yet here they were, walking around.

"Artificial gravity."

She lightly jumped on the ground, "Doesn't feel like space." She sulked following them peeking out of a porthole in the wall and seeing the space outside, "Aw! Now it feels like space!" She cheered.

"Look at this." The Doctor frowned, "Classic design. Pressure seals, hinges. None of that shk-shk nonsense."

"Oh!" Marcella gasped as they walked into another room to find a man standing in the middle of the room in a large bulky spacesuit, his head lopsided, mouth open, looking very pale and unless, "is he dead?" She flashed her sonic at him.

"Did you really need to do that to confirm he's dead?" Star smirked, getting a glare.

"Well, how can he be dead?" Bill shook her head, "He's standing up."

"No. His suit's standing up." The Doctor corrected, "He's just along for the ride."

"Oh God, it's standing for him?"

"Gyro stabilisers, magnetic boots and gloves, onboard computer. It could run, jump, and update his Facebook. Death, where is thy sting?"

"Yeah, can you turn it off?" Bill looked away, disturbed, "The suit. Just, please, just, just turn it off."

"Why?" Star looked at her.

"He's just standing there. It's sick. It's disrespectful."

"What's disrespectful is whatever killed him."

"Well, there was no oxygen, right? Before we got here. Didn't he just suffocate?"

"No, his tank is full," Marcella shook her head, checking the suits oxygen levels, "and his fields up." She moved to touch the face, a forcefield preventing her doing so.

"His what?" She blinked.

"Forcefield." She repeated, "Keeps the air in."

"Well, look, can we just, like, lie him down or something? I mean, this isn't right."

"No, it isn't." The Doctor agreed, "It isn't. Mining Station Chasm Forge. Crew of 40. I've got 36 records of life signs terminated. Last log entry, Station declared non-profitable. 40 minus 36." He murmured.

"Sorry, what?" Bill shook her head.

"4." Marcella answered.

"4 survivors out of a crew of 36." Star breathed.

"The universe shows its true face when it asks for help." The Doctor remarked, "We show ours by how we respond." He flashed open the door of the next room with his sonic, "Any questions?" Bill opened her mouth to ask a question but the Doctor held up a hand, "Good." He turned and walked into the next room finding a spacesuit with a darkened visor helmet moving small boxes. "Hello!" He greeted cheerily, but was ignored, no acknowledgement even when Bill waved a hand before the face.

"Has he got his tunes on?" Bill wondered.

"Nah," Star grinned, pulling off the helmet to reveal an empty suit getting a yell from Bill in surprise.

"Are you trying to scare us?" Bill cried.

"Well..."

"Don't." Marcella hissed, "it will end badly and you know it."

"Did that startle you?" Star teased, "the great and powerful Marcella spooked by an empty suit."

"Shut up."

"Maxing out your adrenaline." the Doctor grinned, "Fear keeps you fast. Fast is good."

"Do people ever hit you?" Bill glared.

"Well, only when I'm talking." He shrugged.

"Keep talking and I will whack you over the head." Marcella threatened.

"So, it's basically a robot?" Bill asked.

"Ah, well. Sort of. Fairly dumb. Capable of simple tasks. Hello, suit." He pressed a control button getting an American female voice in response from the suits comm.

"Good morning. How may I assist?"

"What killed the crew of this station?"

"I am unaware of any recent deaths."

"What about the oxygen?" Star asked, "Where did it all go?"

"There has never been any oxygen in this station."

"Explain." Marcella frowned.

"Oxygen is available for personal use only, at competitive prices." The suit explained.

"It's only in the suits." The Doctor rolled his eyes at that information, "Personal use. They only have oxygen in the suits themselves."

"Capitalism in space." Star tutted.

"Any unlicensed oxygen will be automatically expelled to protect market value."

"Hang on." Bill frowned at the voices words, "Didn't we just fill this place with air?"

"Yes, I suppose we did." The Doctor nodded.

"Because it said expelled."

His eyes widened as a Klaxon sounded around the station, alarms blaring, "It's decompressing! Come on!"

~.~

They raced back the way they came, into the room with the corpse when the airlock opened, sucking out the air as they quickly grabbed hold of stanchions as they fought against the force. The dead mans suit activating it magnetic boots to stop him from behind sucked out as the Doctor managed to get the sonic out and lock the door, sending them to the ground.

"Now what?" Marcella huffed. The TARDIS was on the other side of the door, said door that if opened they would be sucked out into space. Great.

"What's that?" Bill swallowed at the seemingly metal clanging from around the station.

"Er, nothing to worry about." The Doctor waved her off.

"Really?"

"Yes, not for several minutes. Well, don't stress early, it's a waste of energy."

"Stress about what?"

"Occupants of repair station, please identify." A voice called over the comm, "Occupants of repair station, please identify."

Star moved to the panel on the wall, "did you kill your crew or are you just unbelievably lucky?" She responded.

"I'm sorry?"

"Your crew mates are dead. You are not."

"This is Drill Chief Tasker." He offered, "And I haven't killed anyone. Yet. Now who is this?"

"Star. Marcella. The Doctor and Bill."

"You sent out a distress call." The Doctor added, joining her at the comm, "You should be expecting company. Now tell me, what happened to the crew of this station."

"Hang on, you're in the repair bay, right? Get out of there! Now!"

"Why?"

"There are suits in there!" Tasker yelled, "For God's sake, stay away from the suits!"

They turned to see the suit moving, the dead man still inside, the Doctor pulled out his sonic to stop it. It flew out of his hand into the suits glove with crushed it, but thankfully the electricity short circuiting the suit and the corpse fell to the grounds

"Oh!" He dropped to his knees as he retrieved the sonic.

"Are you going to faint?" Star eyed him. He had a very close relationship with his sonic.

"You gave me this one." He murmured.

"Because I took the glasses." She nodded crouching besides him, "you can have them back now."

"I love my sonic screwdriver."

"I'm pretty sure you love it more than me."

Star glared at his silence as he simply pocketed his dead sonic only for Marcella to whack him over the head.

"Ow!" He cried, "what was that for?"

"Love your daughter more than that damn sonic!" She snapped.

"Who said I didn't!" He countered.

"Your silence." Star crossed her arms over her chest, unimpressed.

"Right." He blinked, he must have missed that. "Sorry. Love you."

"Stupid head." She muttered, reaching for the suit.

"Star!" Bill cried.

"What?" She glanced back at her.

"Don't touch it."

"I just wanted this." She took the chip from the back of the suit, tossing it to Marcella, "do what you do best." Marcella rolled her eyes but moved to contact it to a computer screen.

"You ok?" The Doctor glanced at Bill.

"Er, yeah." She swallowed, running her hands through her hair, "Just a little freaked, I think."

"Try not to breathe so fast."

"A single line of instruction was sent to all suits." Marcella informed, reading the information the chip brought up, "Deactivate your organic component..."

"Organic component, as in people?" Bill grimaced.

"They were killed by their own suits?" Star stood and back away from it. Nope, no way was that suit killing her. Or Marcella.

"Can you fry those ones, too?" Bill gestured to the four additional empty suits in alcoves to the side of the room, offline and waiting repair so it looked.

"Possibly, but we have another problem." The Doctor sighed, "Opening the airlock was the station's plan A. Plan B, filtering out all the oxygen."

"Capitalism in space." Star groaned at that.

"If we want to keep breathing, we have exactly one option. Buy the merchandise."

"Oxygen levels are seriously depleted," the computer announced around them. "Please step on board your Ganymede Systems Series 12 SmartSuit. Engage pressure pad to activate customised robing."

"You said those things were going to kill us!" Bill pointed out.

"Well, on the bright side, we're dying already."

"How does this help?"

"We know that they killed their occupants on specific orders. I think these ones are off network for repairs, so they can't receive commands."

"What if you're wrong?"

"We'll be horribly murdered!" Star deadpanned, "sorry."

"Doctor!" Marcella called as she peeked out of one of the windows, "if the suits have killed 36 people that means there are 36 corpses walking around in this station. And we've only seen one so far."

"You know, that really doesn't matter right now."

"I'd only point this out if it did matter. And there is." She glanced back outside at the small army of corpses walking around outside, "36 corpses outside right now."

The Doctor eyes widened at that. Seemed they were running out of options, "Suits, now!"

They moved into an alcove each, Bill on the far right, the Doctor next to her, Star in the one besides him and Marcella in the far left, the suits automatically morphing around them.

"Welcome to the Ganymede Systems Series 12 SmartSuit. Oxygen field engaged." The computer called as the oxygen fields activated, "At current levels of exertion, you have two and a half thousand breaths available."

"Breaths?" Bill frowned, "You couldn't just give it me in minutes?"

"When you panic you breathe quicker." Star explained, "die quicker. So chill." She instructed, "inhale...exhale..."

"Drill Chief Tasker." The Doctor moved back to the comm, "Do you read me?"

"Read you, Doctor. You need to take Corridor 12 to Processing. Quickly."

"Come on."

"You ok?" Marcella asked Bill as they hurried off.

"Just about." She muttered, trying to keep her breathing slow and steady to save breathes, it didn't help as the corpses made their way down the corridors, after them.

"You look like you're trying to run." The voice from Marcella's suit called, "Would you like some help with that?"

"Can you shut that up?" Bill panted.

"I don't know how," she countered, "and I don't often say that."

"Sonic," the Doctor turned to Marcella taking her sonic and using it to lock the door between them and the zombies, continued down the corridor of section 12 finding another door and the broken lock, "We've hit a sealed door at the end of Corridor 12," he called in his suits comm, "No way through. Tasker, come in."

"Inhale..." Star murmured, rubbing Bills back as she began to panic, the corpses pounding on the locked doors, "exhale...inhale...exhale..."

"Tasker!" The Doctor yelled, "Hello? Tasker!"

Marcella banged on the door, "open this door! Now!"

"Inhale...exhale..." Star slowly tugged Bill back towards the door as the corpses broken through, walking closer just as the door behind them opened and they ran in, the four survivors standing there, keeping the corpses out. "Good?" She asked Bill, the woman managing a nod.

"Deadlock the door!" A young black woman ordered as a man with a small beard did so, two more aiming weapons at them, two more men, and a blue man locking the door behind them.

"Cutting it a bit fine, weren't we?" The Doctor nearly glared at them for how close the corpses had been to getting them.

"There was some debate over whether to open it at all." The man whose voice they recognised, countered, weapon still aimed at them.

"Whoa!" Bill gasped as the blue man passed her, "Sorry, I wasn't expecting...Hello." she waved.

"Great." He muttered bitterly, "We rescued a racist."

"What? Excuse me?"

"Don't..." Star shook her head.

"And you are?" Tasker eyed them.

"We got your distress call." The Doctor told him, handing over the psychic paper.

"Sorry." Bill continued, "It's just I haven't seen many, well, any of your people."

"It shows." The blue man glared.

"Seriously." Marcella held up a hand, "stop talking."

"They're from the union." Tasked told his remain crew, looking at the paper.

"The union's a myth." The woman argued.

"Take a look." He showed her the psychic paper.

"Dahh-Ren?" He looked at the blue man.

"Nice to meet you Dahh-Ren." Star smirked at him, using it as an introduction but also ensure Bill was able to understand the correction of his name. Racism, it never left with humans.

"Oh that not me," Marcella called, eyes widened as her arms raised up before her. "I hate this suit."

"It's just glitching." Tasker noted, "Ivan, take a look."

"This way," the other man set his weapon down, tugging Marcella away.

The Doctor rolled his eyes as Star immediately followed after them.

"Would you like to give feedback on your experience so far?" The suit asked as they walked into another room, "would you class your experience..."

"Do you know how to turn that thing off?" Star wondered. It was beginning to bug her.

"And why is it only my suit that talks?" Marcella huffed as Ivan plunged the suit into a computer to reset it.

"The others do sometimes." He replied, "Mostly to say, here's the bill."

"Is there a mute button?"

"Yours isn't working. Suit's a mess. Needs a complete overhaul."

"Great." She grumbled, of course she'd get the broken suit, "just my luck. Ah." She sighed in relief as her arms lowered, "thank you."

"Don't mention it." He smiled.

"Luckily your arms are so toned, isn't it?" Star smirked, "otherwise they'd begin to ache."

"Are you complaining that I work out?"

"Absolutely not."

"You should be good to go." Ivan cut in. "That's the problem with faulty suits, always breaking."

"Yeah, well I have very little choice." Marcella muttered as they moved back into the main room.

"Are there more suits inside the base or out?" The Doctor inquired.

"Outside is suicide." The woman said.

"Inside we can move faster than them." Tasker agreed, "Outside they have the edge. Which means we're dead."

"Are you robbers?" Star tilted her head at them. If they were breaking the law it would explain why the suits were killing them, protecting their stuff.

"You think this is a robbery?" The woman scoffed.

"Well, killing you'd be a good start if it was." The Doctor agreed.

"It's how I'd do it. We robbed a bank you can't look at me like that." She huffed as everyone turned to look at her.

"Well, they picked a fine day for it." The Doctor continued, "This is the least productive we've all been for months."

"Look, we're mining copper ore." Tasker explained, "You'd need to steal a mountain to make it worth your while."

"Your employers. Any help from them?"

"They're too far away."

"Not that it matters." Ivan muttered, "Whoever hacked the suits also cut the radio."

"Your distress call..." Marcella began.

"Was a botch. I boosted a suit radio through the dish."

"Good job." The Doctor nodded, "What about the brains of these suits? The AI?"

"They're dumb as rocks." Tasker remarked.

"But can they learn? Evolve? Grow? Maybe get tired of carrying pesky humans around? Know the feeling?"

"God yes." Star nodded, "no offence." She added to Bill.

"What?"

"They've got limited problem-solving, and that's it." Ivan stated.

"I'm missing something." The Doctor mused, "What am I missing?"

"Oxygen." The woman called, "That's what we're missing. Maybe find some of that and leave the big picture till later, yeah?"

An alarm blared as Tasker moved to a monitor to find out what was going on, seeing the corpses outside fixing the broken lock, "They're fixing the lock!

"Well then, it's time to go." The woman reasoned.

"West corridor is free." Ivan called, checking the rest of the station, "40 breaths to the core. Let's move."

~.~

They raced through the station, losing Tasker as he got touched by a corpse, turning into one of them and following them as they decided to take their chances outside, locking themselves in the airlock, safe for now.

"Helmets on," Ivan instructed, putting his on his head.

"Where are we going?" Bill asked as everyone out helmets over their heads.

"Outside."

"Well, didn't they say that was a bad idea?"

"It is." The Doctor agreed slowly, "But I know a worse one." He activated her helmet setting it on her own head.

"Wait, why, why, why, why do I need that? What about the air forcefield thing?"

"Not strong enough for a vacuum. Trust me." He lowered it over her head, locking it in place.

"What happens if I throw up in my helmet?"

"Don't throw up in your helmet." Marcella warned.

"Inhale..." Star breathed in with Bill, "exhale..." they exhaled slowly, "deep slow breaths."

The airlock activated, the decompression counting down when Marcella suit lit red, "Warning. Helmet malfunction."

"Oh you are kidding me!" She groaned as her arms raised up to remove her helmet.

"Please advise local technician."

"Oh no, you don't." Star grit her teeth, struggling with the suit to lower the helmet.

"I can't move my arms."

"Stop the cycle!" The Doctor turned to Ivan.

"We can't stop it." He shook his head, "It's automated."

"Then hack it." Star snapped at him.

This was not good. The airlock was opening and Marcella couldn't get her helmet on. Which meant she'd be exposed to the vacuum of space, while they could last longer than humans they wouldn't survive long enough that they needed to be out there for without any permanent after affects.

"Now we know now why your suit was being repaired." The Doctor muttered as he tried to fix the suit with the sonic, "Marcella," he moved to face her, "You're about to be exposed to the vacuum of space. So don't hold your breath."

"Or her lungs will explode." Bill breathed.

"You were listening. Well done."

"Do not praise your students when my friend is about to be exposed to the vacuum of space!" Star yelled at him, their magnetic boots activating as the countdown reached single digits.

"What are we going to do?" Bill demanded.

"Do something," Star turned to the Doctor, tears stinging her eyes as the airlock doors opened, the air sucking out instantly, "please. I can't lose her again..."

~.~

Marcella winced as she awoke in a small room, taking a deep breath knowing she had passed out. She blinked, cautiously eying the corpses looking at her through the doorway ahead of her, not stepping through, though. She blinked, feeling the heavy weight on her shoulder that shouldn't be there and noticed Star resting her head on her shoulder.

"Did you give me your helmet?" Marcella frowned at her as Star shot her head up to look at her now she was awake again. Her frowned deepened as she noticed the tears stained on Stars cheeks. "Oh you're so sloppy." She moved to wipe the tears only to find out she couldn't move. "Star...I can't move."

"We turned it offline while you were unconscious," Star murmured.

"What happened?"

"Er, well, dad and I argued over who was going to give you our helmet." She explained, "we managed to get the suit set to auto, walking you out. And dad gave you his helmet."

"He was out there that whole time." Her eyes widened at that.

Star swallowed, they had actually made the deal to swap half way though so not to be out in the vacuum for too long but when she had moved to give him hers he deadlocked it with Marcella's sonic and only unlocked it when safely back in the station. Star had been too worried about Marcella to pay him any attention, and a little bit mad at his lie.

"You got a little scar as well," Star continued quietly, running her hand softly over Marcella cheek where the nasty scar ran. Marcella shivered at the contact, flinching away as she felt the regeneration energy seeping through her skin, healing the scar.

"No don't...where's everyone else?"

"Sector 12." She moved to release her suit, "come on." She took her gloved hand and led her off, unaware the corpses had heard about the area. The area that they didn't have mapped out which was the reason they weren't entering.

"How you doing?" Star knelt before the Doctor as he sat besides Bill in sector 12, the area clearly not used and under construction.

"I'm fine," he waved her off, "Marcella," he turned his milky eyes to her, "how are you?"

"You're blind." She stated. That was something Star should have mentioned.

"I am? Well, that explains the bruised shins." He joked weakly, only for Marcella to whack him over the head. "It's only temporary!" He added, assuming that was the reason for the hit, and not the joke about his new disability, "Once we get back to the TARDIS. I've got stuff in there that'll cure anything. Failing that, I think I've got some spare eyes somewhere. They're from a lizard, but I'm sure they'll fit."

"So er, until then?" Bill cut in gently.

"Until then what? You really think this is going to slow me down? I do most of my best work ordering other people around."

"You do know we're still here, right?" Dahh-ren looked at him.

"Didn't I send you out to get me a latte?"

"So have you got a plan then?" Marcella asked.

"Well, we've all been trying to get a radio working," Dahh-ren answered her, "Star hadn't left your side and the Doctor's been...thinking."

"Don't mean to hurry you," the woman, Abby, called, "but in 700 breaths I'll be dead."

"I need to think." The Doctor muttered walking away. Star winced and quickly moved the loose metal away to avoid him walking into it. He paused and looked back at her, "did you move something?"

"No."

Bill moved to help him walk when Star stopped her, "if I'm not helping him, there's a reason."

"Stubbornness is a big thing in their family." Marcella agreed.

An alarm blared as Abby checked what it was, "It's a transponder, from a ship."

Bill moved to follow the Doctor. Star rolled her eyes and dragged Marcella to follow. There wasn't a chance she was letting Marcella out of her sight, "Doctor, you ok?"

"Bill, I've got no TARDIS, I'm having to borrow Marcella's sonic, about 10 minutes of oxygen left, and now I'm blind. Can you imagine how unbearable I'm going to be when I pull this off?"

"Better than all of us dead." Star folded her arms, leaning against the wall.

"Don't do this." Bill sighed, "You always do this."

"Do what?" He frowned.

"Make jokes to distract me from whatever's about to kill us."

"What else are jokes for?"

"I get you're having difficulty adjusting to the darkness," Star murmured, "but just a little longer. The well be back on the TARDIS and I'll sort your eyes out for you. Kay?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"But if you ever lie to me again!" She poked him firmly on the chest, "you will regret it." And snuggled to his chest. If they had just swapped over like that had agreed on then he wouldn't be blind because neither of them would have been out long enough.

"There's a rescue ship on the way," Dahh-ten called, "We've picked up a company transponder."

"If there's a rescue ship on the way, then how can the rescue ship already be here?" Abby countered, eying the group with distrust.

"Too many rescue ships," Star mused, "that's new."

"Who are you?"

"I'm..."

"An, no," Star slammed her hand over his mouth, "you promised it was my turn." She grinned as he stepped back to allow her to do an epic speech. She smirked advancing on the woman, "im Star, she's Marcella and he is the Doctor. We're the ones who are not going to stop until you are safe. And then, when we do, you'll spend the rest of your life's wondering who we were and why we helped. But you'll never know and never see us again. We are the best and only chance you have of getting off this station alive. Do I make myself clear?" She stared the woman down.

"You didn't save Tasker, did you? And he believed you. Trusted you. And now he's dead. Can you give me one good reason why you shouldn't join him?" Star didn't even flinch as the woman aimed her weapon at her head.

"Lay a hand in her and you'll regret it." Marcella was by Stars side in an instant.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Ivan cut in, moving between them, "We're all getting a little punchy here. It's the oxygen thinning. It's making it harder to think."

DAhh-ren suddenly gave a yell as a corpse touched him, having mapped out the area and the electricity surged through him. "Instruction received. Complying. Please remain calm while your central nervous system is disabled. Your life is in our hands."

Abby shot at the advancing corpses, "Head for the reactor core! Run!"

"What's happening?" The Doctor demanded as Star and Marcella each took his arm to help lead him off.

"The usual." Star answered.

"Thought he didn't like help?" Bill recalled as she quickly followed.

"He doesn't get a choice from me."

"They knew we were there, somehow." Ivan frowned as they hurried on.

"Voice rec." Abby decided, "Had to be."

Marcella cursed under her breath as her suit acted up again, the lights flashing red warming as it stopped, "not again!"

"The sequencer's jammed." Ivan moved to try and fix it, "It needs a reboot."

"How long will that take?" the Doctor asked.

"Too long."

"Ok, we'll pick her up." He determined. He knew that they couldn't leave Marcella behind, doing that meant Star would stay with her, "Come on."

But the suit automatically turned in the magnetic boots, "Warning. This is an illegal manoeuvre."

"The suit won't let us. Health and safety." Abby offered.

"Health and safety?" Star repeated, angry. Very angry now. "This is not health and safety. This suit is trying to kill her!"

"Don't get angry, Star." Marcella remarked.

"It's trying to kill you," she argued, "killing you..."

"Kills you too. You're bloody selfish you know that."

"No, that's not." She shook her head, wasn't important, what was important was getting her out of that suit, "never mind. Switch suits."

"What goods that going to do?" She countered. All it meant was Star would be stuck in the suit, they'd be back in the same place just with Star as the damsel.

"The sequencer controls the release clamps." Ivan sighed, "We can't get her out."

"Were not leaving her here!"

"Please do not interfere with the operation of this suit. Fines may be incurred."

"I get fined for dying!" Marcella rolled her eyes in frustration at that.

"Must be American." Star smirked meakly.

"Hilarious." She hissed.

"Fined for dying." The Doctor repeated.

"Doctor?" Bill frowned at him.

"What if there never was a hack?" He pondered, "What if this is just business? Business as usual."

"What do you mean?"

"Marcella. Do you trust me?"

"Why?" She shook her head, "yes. I trust you. Should I?" She glanced at Star.

"Eh." She shrugged.

"We're going to have to leave you here." The Doctor stated.

"What?" Bill exclaimed, "She'll die!"

"Dad no!" Star cried, "please..."

"You're not going to die." He promised her, "But I won't lie to you, this will not be good."

Marcella closed her eyes but nodded before remember he could no longer see, "ok."

"No! Dad, no! Please!"

"We have to go." Abby ordered, "Now."

"You will go through hell, but you will come through it." The Doctor placed his hands on her shoulders, "And we will be waiting on the other side."

"I'll see you soon then," she offered. "I'll hope."

"I don't..." Star shook her head, "I'm not...I won't."

"Go."

She closed her eyes resting her forehead against Marcella, as she too closed her eyes at the contact, "I'll come back for you." She murmured, "if we survive."

"Of course we will. We'll survive together."

"And fight together."

"Or we'll die together." They finished as one.

"That's what we promised each other." Marcella smiled.

Star gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, closing her eyes a moment seriously hoping that whatever idea or plan the Doctor had would work and they wouldn't end up dead, "you're my best friend and I love you."

"The feelings mutual." Marcella breathed.

"Star we really have to go!" The Doctor called.

"Good luck." Star gave her another quick kiss on the cheek and hurried to the Doctors side to help lead him off as they walked off leaving Marcella stuck in the middle of the corridor as the corpses approached, one of them touching the suit, sending the electrify coursing through her as she groaned in pain.

"Instruction received. Complying. Please remain calm while your central nervous system is disabled. Your life is in our hands."

~.~

"I hope you know what you're doing," Star glared at the Doctors back as he pulled out wires from inside the space stations reactor core, the corpses trying to break in, Marcella included.

"Why, what do you think I'm doing?" He asked her.

"Electrolysis. Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen."

"Oh, that's clever. I wish I could see me doing that."

"Don't make jokes about it."

"Why not?" He huffed.

"Because it's not funny." She narrowed her eyes at him before sighing, "She's my friend, my BEST friend and I left her there. I..."

"She's no deader than you are."

"Oh my god." Star breathed, she was alive, which meant Marcella had to still be alive.

"How do you forget that?"

"Centuries thinking she was locked away in Gallifrey." she shot back, moving to help him, "what do you need me to do?"

"That's more like it!" He cheered, "Get me to a keyboard." She took his arm and led him over to a monitor, passing Bill and the others as they watched and waited in silence, waiting for his plan or for the oxygen to run out.

"You think you have a plan." Ivan watched him work.

"We've got exactly one plan left."

"What plan?" Bill called.

"The big one. The one you've been waiting for all your life."

"What's he doing?" The woman frowned.

"Coolant system again." Star murmured, "oh, that's brilliant."

"Yes, I've rejigged it a tiny little bit." He agreed, "Either that, or I've really screwed up the plumbing. It's tough when you're blind."

"In right here!" Star huffed, "you tell me what you need and I'll do it."

"We need to know about this plan." The woman remarked.

"Ah ha." The Doctor grinned, "The nice thing about life is, however bad it gets, there's always one last option available, dying well."

"No." Abby's eyes widened at the beeping, "No!"

"What?" Bill shook her head, "What is it?"

She moved to another monitor, "Our life signs. He's wired them to the coolant system. If we die, it vents."

"Doctor?"

"When the suits kill us - and they are going to kill us - the core will blow and the whole station will be destroyed." The Doctor explained, "One very big boom."

"So your plan is what?" Bill followed, "revenge?"

Star smirked at her, "I've lost Marcella once. I'm not losing her again. The first time was rough enough."

"But Marcella is dead." She called softly. It was always a hard topic when having to remind someone their loved was dead. Especially so recently, their mind didn't fully let it sink in.

"It's revenge you can see across galaxies!" The Doctor exclaimed, "Not bad for a blind man."

"He's locked us out of the subroutine." Ivan gasped.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought I was tweeting."

"They're through the third lock." The woman cried.

"Open the doors." Star instructed.

"Are you of your mind?" Ivan yelled.

"Yeah. All my life." She winked.

"Listen," the Doctor interrupted, "all we've got left is a good death. This is the moment you've been waiting for since the day you were born. Don't screw it up now."

"There's rescue ships on the way." The woman glared.

"No, there isn't!" He argued, "No, there isn't. There never was a rescue ship."

"What are you talking about?" Ivan hesitated.

"There was no hacking, no malfunction. The suits are doing exactly what they were designed to do. What your employers are telling them to do."

"And what would that be?"

"Save the oxygen that you are wasting. You've become inefficient. You even told me. Your conveyors were down."

"So everyone had to die?" The woman frowned.

"Ah ha! Well, you are just organic components, and you're no longer efficient, so you're being thrown away. You don't believe me? Check on that rescue ship. Access the log."

"No, not true. None of it. You, you are just a lunatic."

Ivan moved to the monitor to check the log for when the rescue ship set off, "It is true, Abby. The ship, it set off before the distress call."

"They're your replacements, not rescuers," Star corrected, "The end point of capitalism."

"A bottom line where human life has no value at all." The Doctor commented, "We're fighting an algorithm, a spreadsheet. Like every worker, everywhere, we're fighting the suits."

"They're nearly through!" Ivan sounded as the corpses broke through the door.

"Open up. Let's send them a message. Let's teach them a lesson they will never forget. If they take our lives, we take their station and every penny they will ever make from it. Die well! It's the finish line! It's winning!"

"Open it." Abby called and the door slowly opened with Marcella leading the dead inside, head hanging sideways.

"Are you ok?" The Doctor whispered, blindly reaching for Stars hand knowing Marcella was with the group of the dead.

She snatched his hand in hers, "I will be."

He nodded slowly at that, "Hello, suits. Our deaths will be brave and brilliant and unafraid. But above all, suits, our deaths will be...expensive!" The suits stopped dead at his words, "Check your readings. We die, your precious station dies. The whole thing will blow. The company will make the biggest loss in its history. A moment ago, we were too expensive to live. Now we're more expensive dead. Welcome to the rest of your lives."

"But you said that we were going to die." Bill shook her head.

"I said she was no deader than Star was."

"Mars isn't dead." Star smiled, reaching over in her suit and activating her oxygen as she sharply inhaled, coughing as Star wrapped her arms tightly around her. "See?" She glanced at the Doctor, "told you I don't regret it."

"I saw earlier her suit battery was too low. Not enough for a lethal dose. I know what it takes to kill someone."

"Hey," Star whispered as Marcella blinked at her.

"Hey," Marcella murmured as Star kissed her forehead again. She hummed at the action, "that's nice. Are you ever going to let me go?"

"No." She pulled her closer.

"Alright." Marcella relaxed in Stars arms, resting her forehead against Stars.

"What are they doing?" Abby asked as the corpses walked closer, stopping before them.

"Relax." The Doctor rolled his eyes. "They're giving us their oxygen. It's good for business." A selection of them swapped oxygen tanks with them, giving them enough to continue until they got back to the TARDIS.

"Thank you." Ivan whispered to the woman before him.

"You see, Marcella?" He grinned at nothing, "have a little trust in me."

"Should I..." she hesitated to tell him he wasn't actually looking at her.

Star shook her head, "no."

~.~

"Ok," Star flashed the sonic over the Doctors eyes back in the TARDIS, thankfully out of those death suits and off the space station, "how's that?"

He slowly blinked his eyes opened revealing they were reverted back to blue, "put your tongue away."

"Just checking you weren't lying to me." She rolled her eyes, tossing the sonic to Marcella who frowned down at it and then back to the Doctor.

"You could have told us your actual plan in the first place." Abby called as she and Ivan stood to the side, having already gone through the surprised 'bigger on the inside' story.

"I could have told Marcella her battery was too weak to kill her, but the suits would have heard. I try never to tell the enemy my secret plan."

"And you couldn't tell me?" Star nearly snarled at him, the TARDIS giving a moan of agreement as the Doctor stood.

"Ah, we're back in the TARDIS. When did that happen?"

"Thank you, Doctor, for all that you've done." Abby said, "I'm sorry that I didn't have more faith in your methods."

"Ah, don't mention it. Now I can set you down on a hub world outside of corporate control, or anywhere, really. The universe is your crustacean."

She shared a quickly glance with Ivan, "Head Office. We've got a complaint to make."

"I think we can arrange that." He moved to the console, Star taking up two sections of Marcella took another two. "Promise me you'll be loud?"

"Promise." She laughed.

"Does it work?" Bill wondered as she made to leave the office, glancing back at the Doctor as he sat casually at his desk, feet up, playing with his yo-yo.

"Does what work?" He frowned.

"Complaining to head office."

"No idea. Never had a head office. But as far as I remember, there's a successful rebellion six months later. Corporate dominance in space is history, and that about wraps it for capitalism."

"Yay!"

"Then the human race finds a whole new mistake. But that's another story."

She laughed, "can't wait."

"But you will."

"Laters." She waved.

"Cya, Bill." Star called as the woman shut the door behind her, "two coffees and a tea then?" She checked, "I got them."

"Awesome." Marcella smirked.

Star paused and looked at her a moment longer, "right, drinks." She nodded to herself and quickly scampered into the TARDIS.

Once sure she was out of hearing Marcella approached the Doctor, hands held behind her back. "How long are you going to continue lying to Star?" She demanded.

"Sorry, what?" He blinked.

"You're still blind, Doctor. You can fool them but you can't fool me."

"Enough, Marcella."

"No. Tell Star now. If you don't I will." She turned and made her way to the TARDIS, but paused at the doors, "she deserves better than that."

Star deserved more than the universe gave her.

 **Laurtaro94: Im really looking forwards to seeing Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor, just series 11 in general. :D**


	6. Extremis

Marcella glanced up as the lecture hall door slammed open and Star stomped down to where the Doctor sat on the stage, sonic glasses over his eyes that he took back to use to help with his sight. He looked up at the noise, also the glasses telling him Star was now in the room.

He was screwed now.

He said he was going to tell her he was blind still. Turns out he didn't, she had just asked him about it and he said she still didn't know. What else was she supposed to do but tell Star herself? They didn't keep secrets, their friendship was built on trust and honestly. She arrived very quickly, a telepathic call a few minutes ago and she was already here.

She was mad.

"Seriously!" She yelled at him.

"What?" He frowned.

"Seriously?" She scoffed, folding her arms, "you thought you could keep that quiet and secret. From me!"

The Doctor stared at her, his gaze turning to where the sonic told him Marcella was sat.

"You said you were going to," She shrugged, feeling his gaze on the back on her head, "but you didn't."

"Jokes on you! Missy told me!" She poked him, "yeah, you told her not me. Idiot!"

She would have continued had the door not opened and a small group of men entered, one in red cardinal robes walking down to greet them, "Good evening, Doctor."

"Hello?" He called, hesitantly. The sonic glasses able to tell him about the 15 men that had entered.

"We have come here today direct from the Vatican."

"Oh, right. That's nice. Well, if you've got a collecting tin, I'm sure I can find something. Er, leaky roof, is it?"

"We have come here to see you because your services and wisdom are recommended at the highest level." He handed them an old rolled up scroll which Marcella took, "As you can see, this is the personal recommendation of Pope Benedict IX. In 1045."

"Pope Benedict." The Doctor smiled at that, "Lovely girl. What a night. I knew she was trouble, but she wove a spell with her castanets."

"Doctor!" The man cut in, "On behalf of every human soul in this world, of any creed, of any faith, with the utmost respect and in complete secrecy, His Holiness, the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, requests most urgently, a personal audience."

"Why?" Star demanded as the man in white robes stepped out before his guards to face them. "Since when does his Holiness come and zoom around the world?

The man muttered the Italian translation to the Pope who offered one word for them to understand, "Extremis."

~.~

A couple of the guards stood outside of the office where they moved for more privacy, "There is an ancient text buried deep in the most secret of the Vatican libraries." The cardinal explained, "A text older than the Church itself. The language of this text is lost to us, but thanks to the work of an early Christian sect, the title has survived." He set an old torn piece of parchment on the desk before the Time Lords, titled Veritas.

"Veritas." Star dead, loud enough for the Doctor to hear but quiet enough so they'd just think she was reading it aloud for herself.

"Literally, The Truth."

"Obviously, this sect, they understood the language." The Doctor said.

"It died with them. And all copies of their translation disappeared shortly after their mass suicide. A few months ago, after many centuries of work, the Veritas was translated again."

"And?" Star pressed.

"What did it say?" The Doctor asked.

"No one knows." Angelo sighed, "Everyone who worked on the translation, and everyone who subsequently read it is now dead. Dead, Doctor, by their own hand. The Veritas is a short document. A few pages only. And yet, it contains a secret that drives all who know it to destroy themselves."

"Confirmed suicides?" The Doctor asked bringing up news reports on the glasses, "All of them?"

"In every case. Beyond doubt."

"All bodies recovered?"

"Except one, but we naturally assumed that he had..."

"Assume nothing. Assumption makes an ass out of you. Cardinal, one of your translators is missing."

"Doctor, those translators were devout. Believers. They took their own lives in the knowledge that suicide is a mortal sin. They read the Veritas and chose Hell."

"Doctor, will you read the Veritas?" The Pope asked in broken English.

~.~

Star winced as the TARDIS doors slammed shut as Bill entered following the Pope as he yelled in frantic Italian, "nice date?"

Bill glared at her as she joined them at the console, really not impressed, "Here's a tip. When I'm on a date, when that rare and special thing happens in my real life, do not, do not under any circumstances put the Pope in my bedroom!"

"Sorry," she offered, "won't happen again."

"I did warn him." Marcella added.

"One of you explain." The Doctor called as he sat at a desk on the upper gallery, his back to them.

"Er, Doctor?" Bill frowned up at him.

"Mars?" Star glanced at her.

"You've heard of the Vatican?" Marcella asked Bill as Star moved to the Doctors side. "In Rome?"

"Hey," she folded her arms as she leaned back against the desk to look at him, "I'm sorry I yelled alright. It's just, you told Missy before me, making me think you were fine."

"Marcella knew." He reminded quietly, so no one else heard. He didn't want to them to know and think he was vulnerable.

"Mars knows everything."

"I didn't want you to worry."

"Honestly I'm more worried about that," She frowned at the small device with a circular circuit board at the top end, "you're not actually thinking about using it are you?"

"No, no. It's fine."

"You just put it in your pocket."

"It's fine." He insisted.

Star pursed her lips but didn't say anything else. If he wanted to ruin his future for a little bit of eye sight then he can go ahead and do just that. "Does Bill know?" She whispered.

"No."

"Oh thank god," he looked in her direction at that, "at least I knew before she did."

"I'm not telling her."

"You don't want your enemies to know, fine." She shrugged, "you don't want people to worry about you, fine. And the more that know the more real it becomes," she sighed realising the real reason he didn't want anyone to know he was still blind, "you're an idiot."

"Everyone knows that."

~.~

The TARDIS materialised in Vatican, the Pope refusing to go with them, bidding them goodbye with the Cardinal translating for them, "Here you must go without me. Cardinal Angelo will conduct you to the library." The Pope embraced the Doctor, speaking Italian, "May God light your path." He patted his back, him and his guards leaving.

"Well, he could certainly give it a go." The Doctor muttered.

"Don't..." Star glared at him as they walked on, standing before a life-sized portrait of a woman with long black hair, Pope Benedict.

"The entrance to the Haereticum," the cardinal began, "the library of forbidden and heretical texts. First instituted by your old friend, Pope Benedict, who still guards the doors." He turned a candlestick and a secret door opened from behind the portrait leading to the large library on the other side, multiple floors and unsupported stairs, the gas lights automatically lighting the room as they stepped through into the marble floors. "Very few know this place exists. The library of blasphemy, the Haereticum."

"Harry Potter!" Bill squealed.

"Is this it?" Marcella stared around the room, unimpressed. "The Academy library was far bigger. And the TARDIS libraries..."

Star sniggered at her words, trying her hardest not to laugh as the cardinal glared at her words, "Please, stay close to me. The layout is designed to confuse the uninitiated."

"Sort of like religion, really." Star smirked needing to speak or she'd laugh.

"You happy in those shades?" Bill glanced at the Doctor, curious to why he was wearing them. Marcella mentioned that he used to have them before Star stole them and now she had finally given them back but it didn't mean he had to wear them all the time, "Not dark enough for you?"

"In darkness, we are revealed."

"So before the interruption," Star remarked to Bill as they walked, following Cardinal Angelo through the maze of books, "how was your date with..." she blinked, Bill had told her the name but she could remember it.

"Penny." Marcella supplied.

"How was the date with Penny?"

"Well it was alright." She shrugged.

"What did you do?"

"We just came back to my place and talked...until the Pope interrupted."

They turned down another corridor as the cardinal pulled a lever on a bookcase, illuminating the corridor to a caged area further ahead, "The very centre of the Haereticum. Home of the Veritas for over a thousand years."

"Truth in the heart of heresy." The Doctor remarked.

"And death in the heart of truth."

They stopped as a light appeared round a corner, shining across before them.

"What's that?" Bill squinted.

"I don't know." The cardinal frowned.

"Well it's clearly a mysterious light shining round the corner 10 feet away," Star drawled, trying to sound sarcastic to Bill and the Cardinal but both the Doctor and Marcella knew it was so he could at least understand what was going on. Seemed it wasn't showing on the glasses.

"Hello?" The Cardinal called, "Who's there?"

"Doctor?" Bill frowned.

"This library is forbidden!" He stepped into the light looking round the corner where a figure stood in the source of the light, "Who are you? What are you doing here? Speak! Speak to me."

"What's through there?" The Doctor asked seeing how the sonic glasses couldn't pick anything up, "What's through that door?"

"There is no door there. It's a wall."

The light brightened a moment before fading to reveal a dead end wall.

"Impossible." The Cardinal ran a hand over the wall, "Quite impossible."

"Let's take a look at the Veritas." The Doctor spoke, "I have a feeling the answers might be there."

"I have to check if there is a breach in the wall. I'll unlock the cage in a moment." The Cardinal checked the wall.

"Sure." He nodded walking towards the caged area where a desk sat in the middle when Bill gave a yell in surprise as a man appeared.

"There's someone in there." Star hissed.

"Oh," he pressed on the glasses to sense that there was a male in his mid-30s in there. "There is someone in there."

"We can all clearly see that," Marcella rolled her eyes before realising what she had said, "sorry." She whispered but he waved her off. He knew what she meant and that it wasn't actually a dig at his missing eyesight.

"I'm sorry." The man in the cage sobbed, "I'm sorry. I sent it."

"Sent what?"

"I sent it, yes."

"Sent what where?"

The man ran off, a gun tightly in his hand, Bill moved to follow him but Marcella grabbed her, "you'll only get lost."

"Cardinal Angelo," the Doctor called to him, "someone just broke into your book cage."

"Priest, I'd say by his clothes." Star watched as the man took off round a corner.

"And he shot out the lock." Marcella nodded to the broken lock.

"Oh well, he hasn't gone far." The Doctor said, "So much for your forbidden library, Cardinal."

"Still checking for a breach," Star sighed stepping into the cage seeing as they didn't have to wait to go it with the lock broken.

"Doctor, look at this." Bill walked over to the desk, where a laptop sat, "Must have been his. Hey, there's Wi-Fi down here."

"Of course there's Wi-Fi." The Doctor countered, "It's a library."

"Er, why is wifi needed in a library?" Marcella shook her head, "we are surrounded by books, the internet is not needed."

"Reading chair with a safety belt?" Star rested her arms over the back of the chair at the desk, restraints over the arms and back and ankles to keep you strapped down.

"What's CERN?" Bill frowned scrolling through the emails left on the

"The European Organization For Nuclear Research." The Doctor answered her, "The largest particle physics laboratory on this planet. Why?" He made his way over and sat in the chair.

Marcella moved the laptop to face her, "Because 4 hours ago, someone, e-mailed them a copy of the Veritas translation from this computer."

"Priest-y dude." Star nodded.

"Remember what he said." Bill agreed. "He said, I sent it. He sent the Veritas."

"And CERN have just replied." Marcella looked up as the email appeared up.

"What'd they say?" The Doctor asked.

"Pray for us." Bill swallowed at that, "When do a bunch of scientists ask for prayers?"

"The same time anyone does. When they're very, very afraid." he ran his hand over the cover of the Veritas set on the desk feeling the letters, "particle physicists and priests. What could scare them both?"

"He's been down here for a while, that guy. Whoever he is."

"At a guess, the missing translator."

"Oh, that's promising." Bill smiled as they all looked at her and she continued, "Yeah, at least one person read the Veritas and lived." Her smile disappeared at the sound of a gunshot.

"Go and see if he's all right." The Doctor muttered, the glasses showing his life signs rapidly fading, "The three of you."

"We know he isn't." Marcella countered.

"We know nothing of the kind. He might need help. He might have useful information. He's about 50 feet that way."

"Are you trying to get rid of us?" Bill demanded.

"Why?"

"Because you're sending us into the dark, after a man with a gun." Star crossed her arms.

"Ah, well, I've thought of that." Star raised an eyebrow at him, "you two," he pointed between Star and Marcella, "make sure that you walk in front of Bill."

"Or Mars and I could go alone," she suggested, "just us, into the danger...and Bill can be safe with you..."

"Are you going to read this?" Bill frowned, "Is that why you're sending us off?"

"I won't read this without you."

"Promise?"

"Trust me. Go..." he ushered them off.

"Bill say with him," Marcella told the woman.

"Go."

"Er..." Bill hesitated.

"Bill..." the Doctor began warningly.

"Doctor shut up." Marcella turned to him, her hands tightly clasped behind her back as she straightened up showing authority, "you are sending both your daughter and myself into the darkness of a man that with the slightest chance was still alive is armed and probably frantic and hysteric-if alive. If he managed to break in, there is the possibility someone else did too. Best you had an extra pair of eyes with you. Bill is staying with you Doctor, clear?"

"Crystal." He grumbled.

"Whoa..." Bill breathed. That was...there was no words for what that was. It was magnificent and just so...wow!

"Oh my god!" Star laughed, "that is..." she sighed heavily shaking her head. Anything she wanted to say about that she couldn't say in front of people. "Badass!" She finally settled on, "Cya!" She linked arms with Marcella was they walked off, the latter glaring at the Doctor hoping he could at least sense it if he couldn't see it.

"Whoa..." Bill repeated.

"What?" Marcella glanced at Star as they walked about to feel her staring at her.

"Sorry," Star laughed lightly, shaking her head, "I love it when you go all powerful and controlling like that. Its rather…dare I say attractive."

"Are you flirting with me?"

"Have been for quite a while."

"We're Time Lords were supposed to be above relationships and love."

"Never was one to follow the rules."

"I gathered."

"You agreed to Connect with me."

"You'd rather have died with me than live without me."

"The universe without Marcella sucks." Star agreed, pecking her cheek as Marcella slapped her away.

"Stop it!" She warned, wagging her finger, "you are making me really confused."

"So...you do like it," Star smirked. Oh she was enjoying this.

"Stop it. Don't ruin our friendship."

"I know friendships that involve trying to kill each other in a daily basis as long as we both agree with it..." she trailed suggestively.

"Just..." Marcella huffed at her. For once out of the pair of them Star won. It was a known fact of the universe that Star never lost but when it came to the pair of them it was Star who was usually the loser. Not this time it seemed. Of course she loved Star more than just a friend but Time Lords were raised to be above those emotions they were said to be weaknesses. Most marriages were just arranged. A few fell in love, of course they did, but hardly anyone and of course after a few regenerations they realised they weren't the person they fell in love with. Another reason why Time Lords falling in love was so difficult, they changed so easily. But she and Star went out together. So there was that.

Urgh. Being in Earth for half a century was really affecting her. What if she started to sound human?!

"Were looking for a dead man with a gun." Marcella reminded Star, trying to ignore the widening smirk she knew Star was going to say something more teasing that she won. But she didn't, thankfully letting it go, stepping back.

"Dead man with a gun." Star pointed to the floor round a corner seeing the man laid out of the marbled ground, gun still in hand.

The same bright light from earlier returned behind them, making them turn to see an oval portal like a doorway at the wall.

"Interesting," Marcella mused pulling her sonic out but got no response from it. Like the portal wasn't there at all. "It would be really stupid to go in."

Star grinned, her hand sliding down into hers, "and even stupider not too." She moved to jump through when she felt Marcella tense, "or not. If you don't want too we don't have too."

"No. It's not that." She frowned bashing the sonic against the wall, getting no response wherever she scanned, even on each of themselves was an unrecognisable result. "Stupid thing."

"Well, dad did make it," Star shrugged for a reason it was malfunctioning, "it's going to have its bad days."

"Yes, but..."

"Portal, waiting, could close at any minute. Come on," Star nearly whined at her, "be a little reckless."

"I'm not reckless," she stated, pocketing the sonic, "that was always you." But she walked by Stars side into the bright light, squinting and finding a door, pushing it open and poking head out into a busy office.

"Hello?" A woman frowned from the water dispenser before them, wondering what two girls were doing in the broom closet, and how long they had been in there for.

"Hello."

"Who are you? Do you have clearance for floor 3?"

"Of course we have clearance," Star scoffed at the idea, "clearance for what?"

The woman's frown deepened, "the Pentagon."

"Ok," Marcella nodded to her, pulling Star back and into a white room, portals against the walls surrounding them in a circle with 11 columns in the middle of the room. "Right."

"Alien technology," Star murmured. That was clearly obvious.

"Why?"

"No idea. Another one?" She suggested, holding her hand for Marcella to take.

"I don't need to hold your hand."

"Oh, this is for me."

"What?" She paused and looked at her, confusion on her face.

"Hand please." Star wiggled her fingers until Marcella intertwined their fingers together, "thank you."

They stepped into another portal, into a corridor when a man with a stubble and white lab coat walked off, a wine bottle in hand, "Oh, hello," he grinned at them. "Are you coming?"

"Where?" Star blinked.

"We're all in the cafeteria. You mustn't miss it."

"Why?" Marcella inquired.

"We'll all go together when we go," he laughed, "Come on!"

They glanced at each other before following him, Marcella's gaze catching on the sign in the wall. CERN. The place the Veritas was sent too.

The man led them into the cafeteria where the staff all sat at the tables, drinking. A screen with a time counting down 5 minutes, he tapped his ring against his wine bottle getting everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" He called, "Your attention please! I've been round everywhere, and I've checked everything. It's all ready to go. 5 minutes. Last orders please!"

A few people moved to get more alcohol while others began to cry.

"Bombs." Marcella murmured, able to see the dynamite strapped to the table legs, "under the tables."

"In vino veritas." The man raised his bottle to them.

"You've got explosives!" Star yelled at him, "why?"

He laughed, "We're saving the world."

"You're blowing yourselves up!" She countered.

"Star..." Marcella warned as the countdown ticked away.

"Because this isn't the world!"

"1 minute..." Marcella whispered when his words hit her, "what do you mean this isn't the world?"

"You haven't read it." He gasped at them, eyes wide, "You haven't read the Veritas."

"Time to go..."

"Choose a number. Any number. Both of you. Now. And say it when I tap this table." He tabbed the bottle against the edge of the table.

They both looked at each other, "36."

"Try again. Keep going." He tapped the table again.

"17."

"Again, don't stop. Every time I tap the table."

"9." They said at once. "48...103...100,000...700,007."

"Stop it!" Marcella glared. It wasn't nothing specially, something they did things like this, said the same things together, finished each other's sentences. It was part of their Connection. Nothing more. But he couldn't possibly know this, hardly anyone knew about their Connection.

"Keep going." He urged, tapping the table again.

"67...905...20..."

"460." The man joined in with them, and soon the whole room was saying the same numbers, "12...4...87...702!"

"How are you doing that?" Star exclaimed.

"Hypnotic." Marcella shook her head.

"No, can't be...can't hypnotise a hypnotist. How are you doing that?" She demanded.

"It's a test." The man grinned, "It's a shadow test. I'm really very sorry."

"What test?"

"Star..." Marcella grabbed her arm as the countdown reached single digits, pulling her off, running as the scientists counted down and through the portal into the white room as the place exploded.

"I don't..." she shook her head. What happened in there couldn't be possible. How had they and everyone else said the same numbers, at the same time? It didn't make sense.

"They're projecting everything," Marcella murmured, gesturing to the columns. "The Pentagon, the Vatican, the CERN. It's all a simulation...like a video game."

"When...when did we end up in a simulation though," Star shook her head, "we went to the real Vatican. WE piloted!"

"Unless..."

"Don't!" Star cut her off, "don't say it."

If Star wouldn't let her say that maybe they had always been part of the simulation then she wouldn't, she could say far worse, "what if we step outside the light of the projection," she raised her hand between the columns when Star lowered it.

"Please don't...I..." she shook her head, rapidly, her mind racing to make sense of this. This couldn't be happening. They couldn't be in a simulation. When had that started?

"What's the worst that could happen?" She countered, "it's fine." She assured slowly poking her hand through, her eyes widened as her hand turned pixelated, "not good!" She tried to pull her hand out but the pixels spread up her arm, "Star!" She gasped.

"Mars!" Star cried, reach for her but she turned to pixels and disappeared, "no!"

Ok, so, apparently this world wasn't real and was just a computer simulation. She didn't want to believe it. But what was the point of living without Marcella? And with her gone but she was still here. It couldn't be real! She should be dead without Marcella.

She turned, following the faint trail of blood and the floor and into the portal that led into the Oval Office where the Doctor sat behind the desk, Bill silently standing before the muted TV. The president dead in a chair by the window, pills scattered across the floor, the bottle still in his hand.

"Is that you?" The Doctor glanced up hearing them approaching.

How he had been able to keep the fact he was blind from Bill during all that was very surprising. But he was just that arrogant and stubborn he'd manage it.

"It's me." She managed out. "The president read it as well then." Why else would he have overdosed?

"So did I. Well, I listened to it.", he held up the earphones he left on the desk.

"He thought it may have been better to listen instead of read." Bill added. At least that's what he told her. He had been about to read it when this mummy monk things appeared and they had to run. Getting out of the library and finding the white room with projections before coming in here, the monks not having followed them. The president dead and he had found the listening device, thinking that if everyone read it ended up dead what if you listened instead. He hadn't let her see it.

"There's this thing on here, it reads aloud to you. It's very useful."

"I bet." Star muttered.

"Everything alright?" He frowned, noting Marcella seemed to be rather quiet and Star seemed to be acting differently whether because of something she found or what he didn't know.

"So what did you find out?" She asked instead of answering.

His frown deepened, usually Marcella tended to ask the questions, "The Veritas tells of an evil demon who wants to conquer the world. But to do it, he needs to learn about it first. So he creates a shadow world, a world for him to practise conquering, full of shadow people who think they're real."

"The shadow test."

"Where's Marcella?" Bill cut in, only now noticing that she wasn't with Star. Which was a terrifying thought actually. Every time they left the university to travel they always went off together. But now Marcella wasn't here.

"Star..." the Doctor called. Why wasn't Marcella there? Where was she? What happened?

"This isn't real!"

"If you're in doubt whether you're real or not, the Veritas invites you to write down as many numbers as you like, of any size, in any order, and then turn the page."

"And everyone gives the same numbers." Star breathed. Just like they had done in the CERN portal. More proof that this wasn't really. Well, without Marcella she really hoped it wasn't real.

"All the same numbers in the same order." Bill held up the piece of scrap paper with two different handwriting of the same numbers in each side. Clearly the pair had done it.

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, "Imagine an alien life form of immense power and sophistication, and it wants to conquer the Earth. So it runs a simulation. A holographic simulation of all of Earth's history and every person alive on the surface. A practice Earth, to assess the abilities of the resident population. Especially the ones smart enough to realise that they are just simulants inside a great big computer game."

"But this is, this..." Bill knocked on the desk, "This is real. I feel it." This was definitely real, it had to be.

"Computers aren't good with random numbers. If you ask a computer simulated person to generate a random string of numbers, it won't truly be random. And if all the simulated people are part of the same computer programme, then they'll all generate the same string. The exact same numbers."

"Yeah." Star swallowed.

"So did Bill and I. The trouble is, when simulants develop enough independent intelligence to realise what they are, there's a risk they'll rebel. Those deaths, they weren't suicide. Those were people escaping. It's like, er, Super Mario figuring out what's going on, deleting himself from the game because he's sick of dying."

"So..." Star swallowed heavily, "glad to know were not real."

"No! This is real!" Bill insisted, "this feels real."

"No, it's not!" Star exclaimed, "it can't be."

"Why can't it be real?"

"Because Marcella dead!" She cried, a sob escaping, "she's gone...and I...I don't want this to be real without her..." she whispered.

"Oh," the Doctor moved round the desk, moving to her side and hugging her tightly. Boy did he know what it was like to lose your best friend. It hurt a hell of a lot. "Those pretend people you shoot at in computer games." He continued, "Now you know."

"Know what?" Bill paused.

"They think they're real. They feel it. We feel it."

Bills hand slowly began to pixelate, before disappearing and so her whole body began to disappear, "Doctor! What's happening?"

"That's what happened to Mars..." Star stared.

"Save me..." and with that she disappeared completely, a zombies monk in red robes snarling behind her, at hand reaching out to where the woman had been standing.

"She's not real," the Monk hissed, its mouth not moving as it spoke, "you are not real."

"Maybe not!" Star agreed, glaring at it, "but you're stupid to think that's going to stop us."

"We're shadows," the Doctor nodded, "puppets for you to practise killing."

"We have killed you many times." The Monk said.

"Then what are you waiting for? Why don't you kill us now?"

"You suffer. Pain is information. Information will be gathered."

"Turn me off!" Star screamed, "turn me off! Give Marcella back to me! Please! I'm nothing without her! PLEASE!"

"Funny," the Doctor mused pulling out Rivers diary Star had kept in her jacket pocket. She had had it since Darilium and he really hoped she was planning on giving it back soon, River had that in the library when she died, "I don't believe much. I'm not sure I believe anything. But right now, belief is all I am. Virtue is only virtue in extremis. I take it that your intention is to invade the Earth?"

"The simulations have been run." The monk continued, "The Earth will be ours."

"Well, consider this a warning on the eve of war. I am the Doctor. I am what stands between you and them."

"You are not the Doctor. You are not real."

"Oh, you don't have to be real to be the Doctor. Long as you never give up. Long as you always trick the bad guys into their own traps. And here's the trap you fell into. Your simulation, it's far too good. Do you see these?" He gestured to his glasses, "They're set to record. I'm blind, you see, so I'm psychically wired into these, so my memory print of the last few hours will still be intact on here. Information about you!"

"You are not real. There is nothing you can do."

"There's always one thing you can do from inside a computer. Even if you're a jumped-up little subroutine, you can do it. You can always e-mail!"

"What are you doing?" The monk demanded.

"The worlds in danger, he's calling the Doctor," Star smirked. "He's saving people."

"Pressing send!" The Doctor grinned.

~.~

The Doctor removed his glasses as he sat outside the vault having seen the recording of the email his simulation self had emailed across to him.

"I would not react like that!" Star gasped.

"Please don't." Marcella grumbled, having connected the sonic glasses to the mobile Star carried round with her and the pair having been watching as well. Well, the email was addressed to the three of them.

Why would she have even been stupid enough to poke her hand into the unknown? That was something Star would do.

 _'Heard that_.' Star called in her mind.

' _Don't overreact like that.'_

 _'Living a universe without you does suck though.'_

 _'You survived before.'_

 _'And that sucked.'_

 _'I promise I won't leave you again, then.'_

 _"_ Can you call Bill?" The Doctor asked, oblivious to the silent communication.

"What am I asking?" Star asked as the phone rang.

"If she's on a date."

"Bill, dude!" she cheered as the woman picked up, "Are you on a date?"

"No?" Bill answered.

"Have you thought about having a date with that Penny girl you keep making heart eyes at?"

"I do not...I don't..." Bill fumbled, "she's way out of my league." She finally settled with.

"No she's not. You're gorgeous, from what I can guess she's gorgeous."

"Are you trying to flirt with me or get her number?"

She pulled a face, "neither."

"Well then maybe I'll call her tomorrow."

"Tonight."

"Why?"

"Do you not want too?" She countered.

"Well yeah..."

"And then maybe we could go in a double date one time!" She grinned.

"Star!" Marcella gasped, eyes wide.

"What?" The Doctor looked between them.

"I'm joking!" She laughed, hanging up on Bill but sent a wink to Marcella.

"Don't scare me like that," she whacked over the head.


	7. The pyramid at the end of the world

Star pouted as the Doctor stood at the console playing a melancholy time on the guitar, the guitar he wasn't currently letting her use after having heard a few complaints from various students and staff at the university of a loud guitar and piano having a rather bad and loud duet. Well, it sounded more like a battle of music seeing how they weren't in tune. And with it coming from the basement but of course no one was down there. He had gotten the blame since people knew he tended to go down for some alone time to think and ponder.

Now she wasn't allowed to have any fun with Missy.

Spoil sport.

"The end of your life has already begun." He murmured, strumming the strings with his pick, "There is a last place you will ever go, a last door you will ever walk through, a last sight you will ever see, and every step you ever take is moving you closer. The end of the world...is a billion, billion tiny moments. And somewhere unnoticed...In silence or in darkness...It has already begun."

"Are you meant to be talking to yourself?" She called down, leaning over the railing from the upper gallery to look at him.

He stopped, turning to the direction of her voice, "how long have you been there?"

"A while. Where did you think I was?"

"Well I heard Marcella leave and I thought..."

"And you thought I went with her." She rolled her eyes, "I've been watching you meditate the whole time waiting for you to stop and also." She walked down and set the sonic glasses on his face, "you're needed."

"Am I?"

"Bills outside with Marcella complaining you've double locked the doors."

"And listening to you talk to yourself through the doors is really annoying!" Bill called through the doors.

"Oh" he turned to the doors, "Those Monk creatures I told you about. If they've modelled every event in human history, if they've simulated entire events streamed from day one till now, think what they'd know. Think what they could do with that."

"The UN called. They want you in Turmezistan immediately."

"Send Marcella."

"They don't believe I took your job," Marcella sighed.

"So go and make sure they do." Star gave him a short push outside into the plane where she had materialised the TARDIS a few hours ago when she realised he was paying her no attention while meditating.

"Marcella is the president now." He announced to the plane.

"See?" Marcella smirked at Bill, "I'm in charge."

"Out of you and Stars who's in charge."

"Still me."

"Definitely Mars." Star agreed.

"Who where's the pants?"

"Clearly I do." Marcella frowned at that. Was that not obviously, "Star is in a dress."

"That's not what I..."

"Even I know that's not what she meant," the Doctor grimaced, "don't say things like that." He pointed warningly at Bill, knowing exactly what she meant and just thinking about that was disgusting let alone his baby girl and her friend. No! Ew. They'd never do that. And if they did...

"Then what?" Marcella just looked confused.

"Oh my god..." Star breathed staring at Bill, "what do you think is going on between us?"

"You're not..." she looked between them as Star shook her head, Marcella staring quizzical, "oh man I missed out!"

"Oh my god!" Marcella eyes widened as she realised Bill through they were in a relationship, "no! Heck no!"

"Rude!" Star pouted, crossing her arms. That was just insulting. She'd be a good girlfriend to her. An amazing one at that.

"But you…" Bill started, only to sigh and shake her head. Time Lords she'd never understand them. "Nevermind."

"Right," Marcella murmured, eying Bill warily as she noticed Star avoiding their gazes. She turned to the secretary general, clearing her throat, "you mentioned something about a pyramid?"

"Yeah," he nodded slowly, "I think we have something of interest." He held up a tablet showing an image of an old pyramid in the area nearby.

The Doctor stared at it, the glasses only showing the outline not the image itself.

"Ancient pyramid." Star hissed to him.

"It wasn't there yesterday." The general added.

"So not ancient pyramid." Marcella pursed her lips.

~.~

The group moved to the town, well, a little outside of the town in the desert road to where a pyramid stood proud, officers and soldiers keeping the area blocked and locals and tourists staring and snapped photos of the pyramid.

The group standing before the barrier.

"Tell me what you see." The Doctor remarked.

"A 5000 year old pyramid." Bill answered.

"What do you know?"

"It wasn't there yesterday."

"Therefore?"

"It's not really a pyramid." She sighed, nearly rolling her eyes at his questions, honestly it was like he was blind to the pyramid before them, "It's something disguised as a pyramid, that just appeared out of thin air, and that's all way beyond human technology, so it's got to be alien. It's an alien space ship."

"There you go." He cheered.

"But what's it doing?" One of the soldier inquired.

"It could have chosen anywhere on this planet." Star remarked, "It chose to sit on the strategic intersection of the three most powerful armies on Earth.

"So what it's doing, Colonel," Marcella turned to him, "is sending us a message."

"What message?" He pressed.

"Bring it!" Star smirked, sharing a look with Marcella, a nod, then a grin before they both jumped over the barrier.

"Madame president?" The general frowned after them. At first he hadn't believed Marcella to be the president but even if she wasn't she was at least doing better than the Doctor, plus the man was seemingly ignoring him half of the time he spoke to him or called him the president.

"Miss? What are you doing?" The colonel watched them cautiously.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at the pair, so very extra they were, they didn't need to jump over the barrier like they did that was just showing off, unlike himself who had the sonic shades to lift the barrier and walk under himself to follow them, closing it again.

"What are they doing?" The General glanced at Bill, she seemed to know them better than the rest of them, "We don't know what that thing is capable of."

"I need you to be my eyes." The Doctor murmured to Star.

"Really?" She muttered, "why what happened to your eye sight?"

"Don't..."

"I'm just saying if you shared the helmet you wouldn't have lost your sight."

"And I'm just saying that I will ground you if needed."

"That'll be the day!"

"Stop it," Marcella cut in, "if either of you would actually pay any attention you would have noticed that the pyramid has opened."

They both looked at her with matching glares as she looked back unamused by their behaviour before gesturing to the pyramid where a couple of the stone slabs slid back upon their approach.

"From the video it's the monks," Marcella continued to explain for the Doctor as the zombie in red robes stepped into view.

"How many?"

"Just one."

"Hello?" The Doctor offered.

"We know you..." it hissed.

"Then you'll know that there is a line in the sand, and I'm the man on the other side of it. You want to keep me that way."

"We will take this planet and its people."

"You will be prevented. You will be fought."

"We will be invited. We will take this world. We will rule its people. But only when we're asked. We will talk again."

"When?"

"At the end of the Earth." It finished, moving back into the pyramid, as the stones slid back into place.

"It's gone." Star stated.

"I know." The Doctor huffed.

"Oh well sorry!" She rolled her eyes, when her phone beeped only to show the time at 23:57:00. 3 minutes to midnight.

"11:57 PM." The colonel called, him and everyone's else's clocks on their phones and watches and other electronically devices showing the same time.

"Yeah, mine too." Bill nodded.

"It's everyone's." The general gasped, tapping his wrist watch, "11.57 PM."

"What does that mean, 11:57?" Bill called over to them.

"Also known as 3 minutes to midnight," the Doctor muttered, the trio walking back to the group by the barrier. "The Doomsday Clock."

"The what?" Marcella frowned.

"Symbolic clock face, representing a countdown to possible global catastrophe, started by some atomic scientists in 1947." Star explained, "The closer they set the clock to midnight, the closer to global disaster. Currently, it's set at 3 minutes to midnight. Because well..." she shrugged, "merica."

"So now every clock in the world is the Doomsday Clock." Bill confirmed.

"Thanks to the Monks, yes." The Doctor nodded.

"Is this a threat?" The colonel wondered.

"I wish it was." The Doctor sighed, "Threats are easy. I think this is a warning. Somewhere, somehow, the end has begun."

~.~

They tracked down private Ilya of the Russian army in the area, getting his phone and calling for his exact coordinates materialising around him having already with the General of the UN and having collected Xiaoloan of the Chinese army, needing all three to negotiate peace and stop the end of the world.

"Hello. Privyet." The Doctor greeted as the man stared at the room that was bigger on the inside, "Sorry about that. Needed the call to zero in on your co-ordinates."

"This is the Secretary-General of the UN." Marcella gestured to the man, "I'm Marcella, President of Earth."

"You're welcome!" Star curtsied mockingly.

Marcella sent her a look, as she continued, "And this is Xiaolian," she returned to the Chinese woman, "she's in charge of the Chinese army."

"Say hi to each other." The Doctor grinned, "Now, we've been having a bit of chat. The thing is, World War Three. What do you think? Basically, we're against it."

They'd gone back to the UN base, a posh tent with computers and technology with a long table in the middle of the room for meetings.

"Listen to me." The Doctor began, "Those creatures in that pyramid, they have studied your species, your civilisation, your entire history. They've run a computer simulation of this world since you lot first slopped out of the ocean looking for a fight, and they have chosen this exact moment and this exact place to arrive. Why?"

"Because a war's about to break out?" Bill guessed.

"But they're right here, right now," Star corrected "because they believe humanity will be at its weakest."

"Then we'll demonstrate strength." Xiaolian stood, determined, "We will attack the pyramid."

"Force is never the answer." Marcella shook her head, "you agree with me don't you, Doctor?"

He hesitated, "Contact your masters. Co-ordinate your attacks."

"Doctor?"

"Dad?" Even Star frowned at him, "are you serious?"

"I doubt you'll even scratch that thing," the Doctor waved off, "but if you demonstrate strength and unity, they might choose to step away. And you two, take those looks off your faces." He muttered to Bill and Marcella, the pair having similar expression, irritation, shock and clearly not impressed at her words of attack.

"There's no look on my face." Bill frowned.

"You're not even in charge." Star hissed at him, "Marcella disagrees with you. She's in charge, her say goes."

"They did not come here in peace." He argued, "We have to do what we can."

"Not by attacking!" Marcella glared, "we talk to them. Find out why they are here now. If they know what's going to end the world maybe we could discuss terms and agreements."

He trailed off as everyone's phones went off again, the time having changed, a closer to midnight by a minute, "11:58." Star told him.

"The Doomsday Clock is moving."

"What do we do?" The Secretary General asked.

"Co-ordinate your attacks." He answered.

"No," Marcella turned to them, "do not to that," she spun and glared at the Doctor, "you are not the president anymore. You agreed I was because you didn't like everyone saluting at you. But now you're taking charge."

"And after this you'll see why," he muttered, walking away but Marcella stalked after him.

"Attacking is going to do nothing, if anything end the world quicker. And as the president i'll get the blame."

"And I'll look forwards to see how you act."

"Oh, I get it. You think that because all the other presidents went corrupt with power. You think I will too."

"I don't actually. But it's a possibility."

"Well, I won't," she was sure of that, "and if I do, you have permission to stop me."

Bill walked over to Star were she stood sulkily by the wall watching the Doctor and Marcella speaking, almost pouting that the latter wasn't talking to her, "what's wrong with the Doctor?" She asked quietly, "why is he acted all weird."

"He's an idiot." She deadpanned, "agreed to let Marcella be the president but as soon as that happens he takes back over. Decided to attack because that always helps." She rolled her eyes not quite sure when the mocking tone appeared but it fitted perfectly.

"You've got it bad." Bill grinned, seeing Star still looking over at where the pair stood, mostly watching Marcella. Oh boy did she have it bad.

She sighed and looked at her, "is it that obvious?"

"Are Time Lords usually so oblivious? Because it's so obvious to everyone but her." Well, the Doctor also seemed quite oblivious but to be honest that could quite easily just be him not wanting to think about his daughter in a relationship. Some parents didn't like that. Her foster mother had very strict rules about men coming over. Didn't bother her, just made it easier for when she actually brought a date home. "If it helps you'd be a cute and powerful couple, ruling the planet together. I'd support you." There was also the little fact that she had actually thought they were already in a relationship before they had even met and only now had just found out that they weren't actually. That was just disappointing. If she knew that she could have had the chance.

"Support us ruling or together." Star squinted at her.

"Both," she answered promptly, "as a really awesome and powerful, badass couple in power."

"Can I ask a question?"

"Shoot."

"How the hell do you get the girl you've liked for centuries but she's too stubborn to actually acknowledge any feelings in her hearts because she prefers to use her head over her hearts?"

Bill really didn't know how to answer that, "you know what you need? A wing woman and it's lucky I'm here." She grinned.

When Marcella shouted by the window, "what is that?"

They rushed over to join them to see a blue beam shooting straight up from the apex of the pyramid.

They moved outside for a better look at the light as the plane flew overhead ready to attack.

"Approaching target." The pilot called, "Permission to strike."

"So, why is the pyramid active now?" Bill wondered.

"Possibly they know they're about to be bombed." The Doctor reasoned.

"Which is exactly why we shouldn't do it." Marcella shot him a dark look. If he wanted her in charge then he should follow her orders and not make his own.

"Target distance 10miles." The pilot continued and they looked up only to see the light shooting in their direction, surrounding the plane, "Set position 5 degrees...Mayday! Mayday!" The plane was lowered to the ground with 3 monks appearing besides it.

"3 monks have hijacked the plane." Star murmured, "don't know how." The monks didn't speak, simply turned and walked back into the pyramid as the plane crew walked out alive but confused.

"And the crew is fine."

"Who are those guys?" Bill frowned as 3 more men following wearing striped shirts.

"I think they're ours." Ilya frowned.

"Yours?"

"We targeted the pyramid with a missile." The light dropped a long cylinder missile, sticking it into the ground, "From a submarine."

"Demonstrating strength clearly isn't helping," Marcella remarked, lips pursing as the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Yes, fine!" He huffed, "it's all on you."

"Thank you." She nodded to him.

"We are ready to talk." The monks called to them.

"And I'm ready to listen," Marcella replied walking to the still open pyramid, everyone following with Star rushing to walk besides her.

"I mean, this is a trap, right?" Bill asked as they walked into the dark empty pyramid, pulling out her phone for a light as the soldiers did the same.

"Possibly." The Doctor agreed, "probably."

"Any words against my ways will not be appreciated." Marcella didn't looked back at him.

"And we're just walking into it." Bill sighed.

"Well, every trap you walk into is a chance to learn about your enemies," Star defended. "You can't set a trap without showing your own weakness."

"Great. Unless it kills it."

"They'll have to go through Mars and I first."

"And anything can kill you." The Doctor added, glancing back at the sound of the door shutting behind them, leaving them in further darkness, the only light from their phone lights.

A monk stepped out before them, "the human race is about to end. The chain of events is already in motion. Life on Earth will cease by humanity's own hand. Observe." It turned and the wall behind it slid open leading to a large circular room with more monks, most standing before the middle where a series of cables were running.

"Simulation chamber," Star casted her gaze round, "should have seen that."

"Ah." The Doctor nodded slowly at that, "The simulation machine looks a bit different from the outside."

"We are modelling the future." The monk turned to them, "Each thread is a chain of days, leading to your end. We can detect when a catastrophe is about to occur."

"And?"

"Stop it from occurring."

"You don't look much like guardian angels." The colonel eyed them.

"We have chosen this form to look like you."

"You look like corpses."

"You are corpses to us. Your world is ending. You can do nothing, but we can save you."

"And you plan to save the planet?" Star raised an eyebrow at that, sceptical.

"To save you we must be asked."

"And then?" Marcella pressed.

"We will protect you."

"How long for?"

"Forever."

"So what? We accept your help, the planet is saved then that the last of the free will. The onset is enslaved to you."

"If you do not ask for help, then see the days to come. These are the threads that lead to one year in your future. Take them as proof."

The humans hesitated, unsure seeing how they could quite easily electrocute them. But the Time Lords moved to grab one each and the humans followed suit, images of war and destruction of the planets future filling their minds as the humans let go in horror of their possible future.

"What was that?" Xiaolian demanded.

"Earth destroyed." Marcella breathed, her hand dropping to her side.

"You seem pretty damn calm about it." The colonel glared seeing how both Star and the Doctor were still holding the wires.

"Not my first dead planet." Star shrugged but let go all the same now that the images were repeating in a loop.

"Ask for help," the monk hissed. "It will be given."

"Why do you need to be asked?" The Doctor frowned.

"Power must consent."

"Power must consent. What does that mean?"

"Those who hold power on this world must consent to our dominion."

"Why?"

The phones all rang again as the time changed, "1 minute til midnight." Star warned as she looked at her phone.

"You could take this planet in a heartbeat." The Doctor continued to frown at the monk, "Why do you need consent?"

"We must be wanted." It replied, "We must be loved. To rule through fear is inefficient."

"Of course. Fear is temporary. Love is slavery."

"If consent is what you need," the Secretary General stepped up moving to stand before the monk that was speaking, "I consent now."

"You can't be considering this!" Marcella gasped.

"What I saw was real. I felt it. If you can help us, I consent."

"Don't..." Star warned, "don't do it."

"Please, listen to me!" The Doctor cried.

A light shone down on the Secretary General, similar to the one the held the plane and missile, "Do you have power?"

He nodded, "I have power."

"Does power consent?"

"Please, stop." The Doctor tried, "Just stop this."

"If your consent is impure, it will kill you."

"Impure?" Star scoffed, "What does that mean, impure?"

"You act out of fear. Fear is not consent." The monk reached out at upon contact with the General, the man screaming and turned to a pile of dust on the floor.

"Planet Earth does not consent to your help," Marcella stated firmly, a quite look at the dirt pile where the man had been standing before glaring at the monks who had so easily killed a man who was simply afraid, "your presence, or your conquest."

"We'll be going now!" Star grinned, "hope we don't see you again. Cya!"

"Without our help," the monk called as they turned to leave, "Planet Earth is doomed."

"Yes?" The Doctor turned back to it, "Well, it's been doomed before. Guess what happened? Me!" Star pouted, clearing her throat and he quickly corrected, "Us!" And now there was three of them to stop them. This would be easy.

"Why do they need consent?" The Doctor shook his head as he paced back at the base, the rest sat round the table watching him.

"Maybe they're like vampires." Bill suggested, "Can't come in unless they're invited."

"Like space fish!" Star exclaimed.

"Space fish?" Marcella shot her an odd look.

"Uh huh. Wanted to flood Venice."

"You're making that up."

"Saturnyns," the Doctor told Marcella. "But they're not vampires."

"They look like the vampires from Buffy." Star called.

"Not vampires."

"You watch Buffy the vampire slayer?" Bill gaped

"Have you seen those slayers?" Marcella looked at her. Bill had to agree that they were very attractive.

"The future we saw." Xiaolian swallowed, "Is it the war? Do we bring that future about?"

"That would seem to be the most obvious conclusion." The Doctor nodded.

"No. I say, no. Friend, I will not fight you."

"We are just soldiers in the field." Ilya frowned.

"Are we too afraid to disobey?"

"I'm not." The colonel stated as they each shook hands.

"Neither am I."

"This is amazing."

"What do you think, Madame President?" The colonel turned to Marcella, "Did we just give peace a chance?"

She kept her gaze on the clock on the computer still showing one minute until midnight, clearly it wasn't them that ended the world, "the clock hadn't changed. Something else ended the world."

"Then who is the problem?" Bill frowned.

"Something is happening somewhere else." The Doctor muttered. "Somewhere in the world, in silence or in darkness, the world is ending right now. And we have to find out where."

"This is impossible." The colonel cried, "We can't search a whole planet in a few minutes."

"Narrow it down." Marcella instructed, "They landed the pyramid in the middle of military crisis. What was the point of that?"

"What's the effect?" Star corrected, "we assumed World War 3 because they said the world ended in a potential war zone."

"Ok..."

"But it didn't." The Doctor remarked, "The trick with misdirection, don't look where the arrow is pointing, look where it's pointing away from. So, what's already on our radar that we should be worried about right now? Forget about war. What else could end the world?"

"Bacteria." Star listed, "disease...meteors..."

"New strain of flu?" Xiaolian suggested, "Plague?"

"People can be immune. And whatever it is will kill all life on Earth, not just humans. Plague discriminates. So this isn't a plan, it's a mistake. Somebody, somewhere, is doing something that's about to blow up in everybody's face." The Doctor moved to the multiple computers hacking databases to find out what was going on.

"What are you doing?" Ilya demanded.

"The distraction tells us that whatever's coming is already on a watchlist. I just put all the top-secret intelligence documents in the world online in searchable format."

"What!" The colonel cried.

"Sit down and google."

"You remember I'm the president, right?" Marcella asked him as the humans moved to the computers.

"And a good leader knows when to let others speak."

"Reason I let you talk." She nodded moving to the computer Star was at and leaning over her shoulder, watching her type.

A good leader always acknowledged other people's strength and used that. That Doctor did this sort of thing often and knew what to do in these situations. She may be the president but he had more experience and so she'd learn from him.

"Marcella, listen." The colonel called after a few moments of researching.

"No." Star stated.

He huffed at that, not sure if she said no to listening to him or if she knew what he was going to say, "Isn't it worth at least just considering doing the deal?"

"The Secretary General gave his consent," Marcella looked back at him, "he got turned to dust."

"He was afraid. I'm not being afraid, I'm being smart."

"Yeah?" The Doctor scoffed, "being smart is not giving away your planet. So, an accident, leading to irrevocable consequences. I like bacteria. They can spread. Once they're out, you can't put them away again. What could they do? What do you depend on?"

"Air, coffee, cinnamon, Mars." Star offered.

"Air, water, food, Star." Marcella added.

He rolled his eyes at them, pointing at Marcella for the first three words, "Air, water and food. Let's say something's going to change, something is going to be released. Something new, something fast. I'm feeling, I'm feeling biochemical. Check biochemical trials."

"Yes, sir." She mockingly saluted, getting to work.

"Don't do that." He whined as she pouted lowering her arm.

Marcella stared between them muttering, _'how did he know?'_ In Stars mind utterly unsure how he knew she was saluting when he couldn't see.

 _'This is the man who knows when UNIT salute with on the phone in a different planet.'_ She pointed out.

It still didn't explain how he knew they did it.

"That world was dead a year from now." The colonel continued, "We should at least go in there and talk."

"There are about a hundred thousand biochemical trials going on right now." Star sighed at the results. "6 thousand related to GM bacteria."

"How many have reached stage two?" The Doctor asked her.

"You cannot accept their offer." Marcella said to the colonel.

"Why not?" Ilya frowned.

"That price is your freedom."

"We'll work it out." The colonel defended.

"428." Star called.

"It's too many," Xiaolian shook her head, "and we don't even know if you're right."

"Well it's better than giving your planet away."

"You know what, sir?" The colonel glared at her, "Finally, you've said something I agree with. It's our planet. Our choice."

"You can't make a deal with them." The Doctor shook his head, "You don't what you're agreeing to. I don't know."

"All I know is, I plan on living to fight another day. Right now, what we don't have is a whole lot of other days."

"Agreed." Xiaolian nodded.

"Also agreed." Ilya agreed.

"Is it just possible that they're right?" Bill asked hesitantly.

"You'll give away your planet without knowing the consequences." Star cried.

"All these soldiers in the room, and you're the only ones still fighting."

"For what's right!"

"Those guys have modelled every event in human history to find our weak spot. Are you going to do the same in a couple of minutes?"

"Would you make the deal?" Marcella asked her.

"No." She admitted quietly, "Not if I had a choice. But we don't, do we?"

"Yes, we do." Star argued, "there is always another way."

She closed her eyes remembering another impossible decision involving destroying a world, there had been another way. She had ensured the better way was used but look where that had gotten her now. Now both she had Marcella were renegades from Gallifrey.

"It's your world." The Doctor stared at him. Where they seriously thinking about just handing it over. They didn't even know what caused it. Once they found that out they could stop it.

"Not anymore." The colonel replied stiffly, "Ok, back to the pyramid and negotiate our surrender." The military people left the base heading off to hand their plane river without caring about the coincidences.

"What are you going to do?" Bill asked the time lords.

"Well for a start," the Doctor sighed, a quick glance at Star and Marcella, the pair still at the computer, the latter a hand on the formers shoulder, "I'm going to tell you the truth. I've been keeping a secret from you." He lowered his sonic shades to tell her he was still blind when a thought hit him, "We can blind them. That's how we do it. We blind them!"

"Blind who?" Bill shook her head, "The Monks?"

"Bill, go to the pyramid. Star, go with and keep an eye on them all. Marcella, with me. To the TARDIS."

"Have you got a plan?" Bill called as Marcella moved to follow the Doctor.

"You'll be hearing from me. Oh!" He turned to Star, "your phone."

She tossed it to Marcella who caught it with one hand, "don't break that." She warned.

"I won't." First it was a way of contacting and letting Bill hear the conversation. Bill had Stars number, they had Stars phone they can call while telepathy meant Star would then have to repeat everything to Bill wasting time. And she knew the phone was from Clara. She had seen it when she borrowed to watch movies on it. Seen the messages, usually messages Star sent to Clara, none ever with a reply or received.

~.~

"Ok," the Doctor moved easily around the console as he spoke, "here's the list of labs on the UNIT watch list. If they're being watched, that means they've got CCTV cameras with feeds to UNIT HQ. Can you hack them?"

"Can I hack them?" She repeated, scoffing, "have you met me? But we can't watch all 428 of them."

"Yes, well, we're not going to watch them, we're going to switch them off. Can you do that?"

"Of course. Why?"

"If I'm right, the Monks are only watching one of those labs. How would they do that?"

"Hack the cameras."

"So switch 'em off." He grinned.

She pursed her lips as she stood at the monitor seeing him facing the other way, "I'm over here."

He spun to face her, "don't tell Star." He'll never let that down.

"I won't," she swore, hacking into the cameras of the 428 labs, "ok, blinded. But whatever is killing the planet is still happening."

"Yep."

"And the Monks are powerful. They can just turn the cameras back on."

"Yes, they can. But they're only watching one lab. So all we need to know is which lab just got its cameras back."

She blinked as the monitor beeps as one lab in particular got in cameras switched back on. Argofuel in Yorkshire, "wow! Teach me how to do that."

"These things can't be taught." He smirked, smug.

"You've taught Star." She pointed out.

"Genetics."

"I'll beg."

"I'd pay to see that."

~.~

They materialised in the lab where a young woman stood, staring at their sudden appearance, dressed in a biohazard suit.

"Oh, my God!" She gaped at them.

"No, I'm the Doctor," he corrected, "but it's an easy mistake to make. The eyebrows."

"How did you do that? What is that thing?"

"It's just Marcella. Star insisted I let her keep her."

"You pretty much agreed to get her away from annoying you 24/7, didn't you?" Marcella guessed, almost rolling her eyes.

"You do her good. Anyway," he turned to the scientist, "you have a problem, I believe."

"Who the hell are you?" The woman demanded.

"Don't be alarmed, we don't have time. Just jump straight to all the explaining."

Star glanced down at Bills phone she held ready to call or receive a call. The only reason she had it was because it was more likely going to be Marcella who was the one to call and so she may as well be the one to answer her.

The group stood before the barrier, watching the pyramid in case the monks walked out.

"Hey," she greeted putting the phone on speaker, "what have you got."

"It's a lavatory in Yorkshire. Pretty much a misplaced decimal point resulted in bacteria turning any living think to gunk."

"So why is it going to end the world?" The colonel frowned, "Has it been dispersed already?"

"No, it's still in the lab right now. But we can contain it and should be able to destroy it."

"Should?" Bill hesitated.

"Can." She corrected.

"We give them 2 minutes and we're heading in." The colonel ordered, "Agreed?"

"Agreed." The two remaining military personal agreed.

"Can they do it?" Bill asked Star quietly, "can they stop the bacteria."

"Yes." She determined. She had undying faith in the pair of them.

"We have an air filtration system to take toxins out of the air." The scientist explained as Marcella hung up the phone, holding it tightly. "It runs a cycle every 30 minutes. It's going to pump the bacteria into the atmosphere." "So switch it off." The Doctor rolled his eyes at the obviousness.

"Clearly there's a reason she hasn't done it already." Marcella argued.

"It's true." The woman nodded, "I can't switch it off."

"Right," he nodded slowly, "ok, when's the next cycle?"

"20 minutes."

"What!"

~.~

"Anything?" The colonel demanded as they rang again.

"The venting system is automatic." The Doctor sighed, "This is going to be trickier than I thought."

"We're going in."

Star shared a look with Bill before the pair followed the others under the barrier.

~.~

"Think. Think, think, think, think." The Doctor paced the lab, trying think of a way to prevent the bacteria getting out of the lab, "Stupid Doctor. Stupid, stupid, stupid..."

"What?" Marcella frowned as he trailed, "what have you realised?"

"Handsome Doctor." He smiled, "Adorable, hugely intelligent, but still approachable Doctor. What's another way to destroy bacteria?"

"Sterilisation." The scientist called.

"And how do you sterilise something?"

"Put it in boiling water."

"Or?"

"Put it in a flame."

"She's got it. By George, she's got it!" He grabbed a bunch of wires and a thermos flask. "I'm not going to lie to you. This means that your insurance premiums are going to go through the roof. In fact, pretty much everything is going to go through the roof, because I'm going to blow up the lab. We just need some kind of a trigger, first."

"But what are you going to blow it up with?" She shook her head when it dawned on her, "The bacteria is making ethanol. The greenhouse and the lab is full of it!"

"Seriously, what are you doing when this is all over?"

"How many companions do you usually take at a time?" Marcella inquired, genuinely curious.

"Depends if anyone impresses me." He shrugged, "although sometimes Star asks nicely."

"And by asking nicely she does those wide innocent pleading eyes."

"It's so unfair!"

~.~

"Have any of you thought about what the consequences of giving them your consent is?" Star demanded as she stalked after the group through the pyramid back to the open and waiting monks in the simulation chamber. Bill seemed at least slightly more hesitated than the rest of the humans slowly walking behind them, "seriously? People don't save planets for no reason!"

"Why do you?" Bill asked her.

"Because I'm banished from mine. Earth is pretty much my own planet. And I'll defend it to my dying death"

"We're ready to talk." The colonel stood before the monk in red.

"Do you have power?" It rasped.

"Well, right now we're representing the three biggest armies on the planet, so I guess we do."

"Does power consent?"

"We consent." He nodded firmly.

"If your consent is impure, it will kill you."

"I surrender. We surrender. What more do you want?"

The three military personal stood side by side a monk moved to stand before each of them. "To rule, there must be love. Your consent must be pure." The reached out to the soldiers, "You act out of strategy. Strategy is not consent."

Before their very eyes they were turned to dust like the secretary-General before them, not even enough time to scream.

The Monk turned to Star and Bill, the only turn remaining, the latter staring down at the dust in horror, "Do you consent?"

"No." Star stated.

"I don't have any power." Bill shook her head, "I'm nobody."

"Were here on behalf on the president of the planet." Star murmured, "We have the biggest power right now."

"The president isn't my girlfriend."

"She isn't mine either."

"You want her to be."

"Shut up. All your friends think she's your sister."

"So?"

"So?" She repeated turning and glaring at the monks, "so you do not have our consent for this planet."

~.~

"Is this going to work?" The woman asked as she watched Marcella flashing a black wand device thingy on the flask that the Doctor had wired together with a watch to make a makeshift bomb to set the lab on fire.

"Trust me. I pop it in there." He grinned jerking his head to the greenhouse where the bacteria started, "Machine goes ping. Lab goes boom. World is saved. You develop a pretty intense crush on me."

"Ok, that's all connected together." Marcella remarked.

"Go through to the machine room. You're going to have to let me back in when I'm done. How long before the vents kick in?"

"4 minutes." The scientist called.

~.~

"Star?"

"How's it going?" Star responded, putting the phone on speaker again as Marcella rang.

"We can't stop the vent cycle so were blowing everything up."

"Did you make the bomb?"

"You dad did."

"You got a thing about explosions lately, dad?" Star called to him knowing it would be on speaker their side.

"I'm not that bad!" He huffed in defence. Just because he had tried to blow up the Earth colony with the killer robots.

"Er, won't you also blow up?" Bill frowned.

"Not if we get to the TARDIS." Marcella told her.

"Honest answer, Doctor. You going to do it?"

"Course I'm going to do it." He scoffed.

"Because they're still offering a deal...and its only us left."

"Were not doing it." Star determined, crossing her arms, "I don't give my consent."

"That's my girl!"

Bill looked at the monks that seemed to be patiently waiting for them to give their consent, almost like they knew one of them would give up the planet, "What does consent mean?"

"You must ask for our help," the one in red robes hissed, "and want it, and know you will then be ours. Only then can the link be formed."

Star narrowed her eyes at that, lowering the phone, "What link?"

"Do you consent?"

~.~

Marcella held the phone tight in hand grasp as she followed the scientist into the airlock as the Doctor moving to the green house with the makeshift bomb. Star had switched the speaker off and she could barely hear the conversation, something about a link, and needing the monks help.

The woman removed her helmet safe in the airlock, calling into the comm, "Can you hear me?"

They looked through the glass as the Doctor walked through the murky gas to the compartment of dead plants, one having been left open.

"I don't even know your name." He muttered.

"Erica."

"Nice to meet you, Erica." Marcella smiled.

"Did you always want to be a scientist, Erica?" The Doctor asked.

"Since I was about 8. Before that, I wanted to be a bus driver, because I liked how they waved at other bus drivers." She smiled, watching as the Doctor set the bomb on the shelf before the open compartment, setting the timer.

"Ok, i've given us 2 minutes."

"Now get out of there." Marcella urged.

The Doctor smirked as he started the countdown running through the first airlock, "Hello, I'm the Doctor, saving the world with my eyes shut."

"Don't get smug yet." Marcella warned. She glanced down hearing Star voice again in the phone, back on speaker.

"Doomsday clock is reverting back," she informed, "amazing! As always."

"I know! I know!" He beamed, "I'm brilliant! Magnificent. Alright now let me back through."

Erica moved to open it but found it stuck, "I can't open it. It's under emergency protocol. You need to use the combination lock. Set it to 3614."

"Let me try," Marcella moved her out of the way, trying herself, flashing her sonic at it but nothing. It really did need a combination lock, a lock that the Doctor wouldn't be able to see.

Oh poo.

"Ah," the Doctor winced the sonic glasses unable to show the numbers, they were painting in as well so he couldn't feel their shape either. "How long have I got?"

"1 minute 40." Erica called. "3614."

"What's going on?" Star called down the phone. "What's the problem?

"Emergency lock on the door." Marcella breathed, "Needs a combination, but er..."

"You can't see the numbers." Star whispered, realising the problem. He could save the world blind but couldn't save himself.

"1 minutes 20." Erica called.

"I don't understand the problem." Bill called.

"There's cameras in there so I can get a visual in the TARDIS," Marcella raced to the box but of course it was locked for the danger and she didn't have a key, "I don't have key." She winced.

"I don't understand the problem." Bill repeated, confused with the problem, "Just open the door."

"I can't..." the Doctor winced.

"Why can't you?"

"Because I'm blind." He finally admitted to her having kept it quiet for so long, "I'm sorry, I'm blind."

"What, what do you mean, blind?" She demanded, "What are you talking about? Star tell me."

"I lied. I've been blind since Chasm Forge. I didn't get my sight back. I've been lying to you. There's a combination lock with numbers, and I can't see them."

"You're an idiot." She cried, "You are the stupidest idiot ever! But I'm not going to let you die."

"Bill no!" Star shouted.

"Is there not a spare key or anything!" Marcella tried. If she could just get in the TARDIS she could at least materialise around him.

"There's no choice." He sighed, resting his head against the door, "No one else can help me now."

"The Monks." Bill gasped, "The Monks can help you."

"No! Bill, no, don't do that."

"I'm sorry."

"I made a mistake. I have to face that. But do not ask the Monks for help. Bill! Star don't let her."

"Doctor. This planet needs you, so I'm making an executive decision. I'm keeping you alive."

"Bill, listen to me, please. I don't know what consenting allows them to do to you. You don't know what you're agreeing to!"

"I'm on it!" Star swore before the phone clicked off.

~.~

"Bill!" Star ran after the woman through the pyramid and back to the simulation chamber, "you can't! Please..."

"He's your dad!" Bill stared at her in disbelieve, "surely you'd want to help him. The monks can. Hell die over wise."

"Yes, he will die." She swallowed at that. "But he'd rather die than let earth be taken by those monks. Please."

"He's your dad." She'd do anything to at least know her dad, but here Star was arguing about saving him, with time they didn't have. 1 minute 20, the woman had said. And time was running out. She ran to the monks, racing ahead of Star, where they stood expectantly waiting, "Can you give him his sight back?"

"His sight can be restored." One nodded.

"Then, then we're...I'm asking you for help. I'm giving my consent."

"Is your consent pure?"

"Just give him his sight back" she cried, they didn't have time to waste questioning if it was pure or not, "You can have the world. Just make him see again. I consent." She closed her eyes as the monk reach for her, last time they did that everyone turned to dust.

"You act out of love. Love is consent. We must be loved."

Star raced over, "oh Bill..."

~.~

"Star?" Marcella breathed at the silence on the other end, unsure if Star was actually able to get Bill to really think about giving her consent.

"Do not make this deal!" The Doctor yelled, "I forbid it! Bill, can you hear me? What's happening? Star?" He tried, "please, don't let her..." he tried off, removing the sonic shades, blinking as slowly the combination came into focus. He swallowed hard at that but quickly put in the code as the countdown finished and the greenhouse and lab went up in flames.

"I'm sorry..." Star whispered. "She has longer legs than me."

"I'll tell you what, old man." Bill breathed, "You'd better get my planet back!"

"Enjoy your sight, Doctor." A monk hissed, "Now see our world."


	8. The lie of the land

The TVs in the window of a local electronics shop all turned on automatically showing the Monks logo on the black screen, the red letters of Truth below an open pyramid sort of shape, before the Doctor appeared in the screen speaking to the world sat in a white room himself. God only knew where he actually was.

"The Monks have been with us from the beginning." The Doctor spoke calmly, sat in a black chair before the camera, "They shepherded humanity through its formative years, gently guiding and encouraging, like a parent clapping their hands at a baby's first steps. They have been instrumental in all the advances of culture and technology. They watched proudly as man invented the light bulb, the telephone and the internet. They were even there to welcome the first men on the moon. And they have defended us too. Who can forget the time the Monks defeated the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Weeping Angels? Two species, sharing a history as happily as they share a planet, humanity and the Monks are a blissful and perfect partnership. How lucky Earth is to have an ally as powerful and tender as the Monks, that asks for nothing in return for their benevolence but obedience. So relax, do as you're told. Your future is taken care of." He grinned at the camera, before the logo repeated and anyone who had stopped to watch the broadcast continued on the way, all dressed in dark clothing.

Star rolled her eyes as she tugged on the hood on her cloak, wrapping it tightly around her body as she walked off, lowering her head at the monk watching from above a nearby set of stairs.

6 months since the monks had taken over the planet. The Doctor and Marcella had been taken by them, hence the broadcasts, 1 month ago Marcella herself had been on the screen but she had since disappeared and Star dreaded to think where she was now or what the monks had done to her. She was clearly still alive of course. Still she worried.

Bill was back to serving chips at the university, she went and caught glimpses of her on occasion, not speaking, the only time she dared go back to the university was to sneak down to the vault to keep an eye on Missy.

It was a good hiding place with the monks not knowing about it, food, shelter and company. For both herself and Missy.

She struggled as a gloved hand suddenly covered her mouth to keep her from yelling and dragged her down into an empty alley, pushing her against a wall, "6 months!" She huffed as Marcella removed the hat she worn as part of a disguise.

"Held prisoner." She glared back.

"They must be powerful if they held you prisoner for 6 months."

"I escaped after 5."

"Did you have to leave daddy there?" She pouted.

"Shut up." She grumbled, "I made a plan. He's in on it. But we need Bill."

"Oh she hasn't seen me for 6 months and it's straight to 'where's Bill?'" Star rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, "didn't even miss me a little."

"Oh..." Marcella scowled, partly from her bad attitude but also because Star turned quickly and pinned her against the brick wall, holding her wrists above her head. "Is this necessary."

"You are so frustrating!"

"Barely 2 minutes and we're already yelling."

"The only person I have spoken to for 6 months is Missy." Star hissed.

"That is not my fault."

"You got kidnapped."

"You went to see her."

"Food, shelter and company. All I'm saying."

"You are far too comfortable around the woman."

"I have no reason to be on her bad side."

Marcella huffed, "Do you or do you not know where Bill is?"

"Course I do. I didn't fully abandon her. May not have spoken to her or let her see me. This way..." she led the way back into the Main Street, ensuring her cloak was tightly fastened as Marcella pulled her hat back down over her hair and they walked off, "so plan?"

~.~

"Sure this is the right place?" Marcella asked, skeptical as they stood before a very simple house very much like the others, sonic out ready.

"Yes!" Star huffed, "it is."

"Well, I don't want to break and enter some random persons house."

"It's not breaking and entering, its sonicing and entering." Star corrected.

"I travelled with a man called the Doctor, his daughter Star and her...friend Marcella," they could hear Bill speaking on the other side, "and I did this to save him. I'm trying to stay strong without them, but every day it's harder to remember what's real any more."

"You really should have gone and at least said hi, Star." Marcella sighed, bashing the sonic against her palm as it reacted to finally having a job to do after 6 months of being abandoned in her pocket.

"But it's all right, because I know he has a plan. One day soon, he's going to come back and save us all. One day..." Bill trailed off as Marcella soniced the door open, clearly hesitant on who the heck was breaking into her house.

It was empty when they walked in, down the hall and into the kitchen where a mug of tea was left in the table.

"What the hell?" Bill cried as she jumped out to attack, holding a stool out at them.

"You're the one threatening us with a stool!" Star yelled, "give a girl a hearts attack why don't you."

"Can you both please stop yelling," Marcella flipped the sonic away, rubbing her temple from the oncoming headache.

"No. Wait. Stop." Bill cut in, shaking her head, "Tell me something. That first time, with the Heather creature chasing us, where did we run away to?" She pointed the stool at Marcella, "you first."

"Australia."

"What noise does a spaceship door make?" She asked, turning to Star.

"Shuck shuck." She answered.

Bill dropped the stool and lunged at them, "Oh God, it happened. I knew it. It all really happened," she laughed only to glare and move to punch Marcella arm when the girl caught her fist mid-air.

"Don't."

"Where the hell have you been?" She demanded, dropping her arm again.

"I was kidnapped by those damn monks for 5 months," Marcella glared back at her, dropping her arm.

"Couldn't risk the monks seeing me," Star defended as Bill turned her accusing gaze on her, "I was watching you. Don't worry no harm was coming to you. Who were you talking too?" She asked, changing the topic from what they had been doing for the last 6 months, "we could hear you through the door."

"Um, er, my..." Bill fumbled, embarrassed, "er, my mum."

"Said mum who died when you were little?"

"I, er, made up a version of her. Yeah, I talk to her all the time."

"Cool. The guy in my head is called Torvic." Star sat down on the chair at the table, feet on the table, "he is an arsehole."

"They're doing something to us." Bill remarked, sitting down before the tea mug, leaving Marcella standing between them, "The Monks. I can't think straight. It's like they're saying they've been here for ever, and I know they haven't, but part of me is starting to think that it's real. Every day I have to, I have to remind myself that everything that we and the Doctor did actually happened, and it wasn't just a dream. Why do it? That's what I don't get. They invade somewhere, take control. Why go to the trouble of changing the past?"

"If people think it's how the bad situation has always been they won't argue," Star shrugged, "makes the job easily them."

Bill blinked as she recalled Marcella's words, "you said the monks kidnapped you for 5 months?"

"Yeah..." she eyed her.

"What have you been doing for the last month?"

"Looking for her." She nodded to Star.

"And what have you been doing?"

"Looking for her and the Doctor," She replied.

"You know where he is?"

"I spent 5 months stuck with him." Marcella deadpanned but Bill just continued to stare hopefully, "yes, I know where he is."

"All anyone has seen of him is from those damn broadcasts." Star muttered. "Which they've block the signal from."

"How do you know that?" Marcella looked at her in mild surprised. She hadn't mentioned that when explaining the plan.

"Do you really think I would spend 6 months without you if I didn't have too?"

Marcella nodded her agreement at that, Star was just that clingy, "The Monks have got him on one of the old prison boats."

"So how do we get to him?" Bill shook her head.

"Every 6 weeks, all their food and fuel and stuff gets taken to them by a supply boat. The next delivery is in 2 days' time, off the coast of Scotland."

"That's our chance!" Bill exclaimed in delight, raising her arm to punch her in her excitement.

"Hit me and I'll hit you back twice as hard."

Bill slowly lowered her arm again realising Marcella wasn't even looking at her as she spoke.

"The punching really had to stop," Star agreed, "not that its hurts."

"It's just irritating." Marcella grumbled.

~.~

Marcella had gotten in contact with the captain of the supply boat, the mans son in the 10 year prison camp and so he was very happy to help if it meant stopping the monks and getting his boy back. Of course it was only Bill who had any form of ID, and she was only down as kitchen staff so they didn't want to be ID'd didn't stop that from happening as they checked everyone's but thankfully a monk walked through, hardly noticing the team, but its appearance had prevented them from being caught out.

As they got into the prison ship it was easy to sneak off, Marcella knowing the way to the Doctors room, all white with a round window in the door, a desk and chair in the middle of the room with papers scattered around as the Doctor sat shifting through them.

"Ah if it isn't the Oncoming Storm all locked up!" Star smirked as she barged in.

"Hello Doctor." Bill grinned at him.

He looked up at them in shock, "guards!" And 8 armed guards in red came running in, weapons pointed at them. "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

Star rolled her eyes, "nice to see you to dad."

"What does it look like?" Bill frowned as the guards aimed at them, "We've come to save you."

"This is your doing, isn't it?" The Doctor turned to Marcella, "You shouldn't be here. I'll have to talk to the Monks now."

"Doctor..."

"Stop. Don't. Don't move. They will kill you. Stay where you are." He picked up the telephone in the call, dealing and speaking, "Epsilon. Fire. Jupiter. Lily." And set it back down, looking at them, "The Monks are on their way. When they get here, let me do the talking."

"Wait, what was that? Did you actually just call them, you nutter?"

"You deserve an explanation."

"No kidding." Star agreed.

"Human society is stagnating. You've stopped moving forward. In fact, you're regressing."

"This isn't exactly much better." Bill argued.

"It's safer."

"Not so much for the people the Monks are killing."

"The Romans killed people and saved billions more from disease, war, famine and barbarism." The Doctor countered.

"No, wait. What about free will? You believe in free will. Your whole thing is. You made me write a 3 thousand word essay on free will."

"Yes, well, I mean, you had free will, and look at what you did with it. Worse than that, you had history. History was saying to you, look, I've got some examples of fascism here for you to look at. No? Fundamentalism? No? Oh, ok, you carry on. I had to stop you, or at least not stand in the way of someone else who wanted to, because the guns were getting bigger, the stakes were getting higher, and any minute now it was going to be goodnight, Vienna. By the way, you never delivered that essay, anyway."

"Because the world was invaded by zombie Monks!" Bill yelled at him.

"And whose fault was that, huh?"

"Yours," Star stated.

"How so?" He scoffed.

"If you gave me the helmet half way as planned then you never would have lost your sight, never nearly got blown up! And Bill never would have made the deal to save your damn life!" She gave him a shove into the table behind him, "something you have yet to thank her for, by the way."

"I didn't ask for my sight back, Star." He sighed, "No, you took it upon yourself to ignore me, to do what you thought was best. All I can say is that we are lucky it was a benevolent race like the Monks, not the Daleks. Yes, I know the Monks are ruthless. I get that. Yes, they play with history and I'm not exactly thrilled about that. But they bring peace and order."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Bill nodded, "its like that time we discovered that huge fish creature in the, in the Seine in Paris."

"That was a coded message." The Doctor murmured, walking closer, "The big fish creature was under the Thames. If I'd played along, she'd have known that I was tricking you. Guns down."

Bill was in the verge of years as the guards lowered the weapons as the Doctor sat heavily in the chair, "I'm sorry, Bill. I just, I just, I really wanted to make you see."

"This...this is real?" She blinked, "You...you're actually doing this? Do you have any idea how hard the past few months have been? How hard it's been to hold onto to the truth? It would have been so easy to just, just, just give in and believe their lies. But I didn't. I fought against it, for you! For when you came back. And now you're saying you've joined them? You're helping them?" She glared at him. This wasn't right, wasn't like him. And yet both Star and Marcella was watching the exchange quietly. No. She wasn't having this. She grabbed the gun from the guard closest to her and all the guards raised their weapons again.

"That's my dad," Star glared, the tip of her dagger to Bills throat, "he may be an utter arsehole but he is still family."

"Fire and I kill," Marcella warned, pulling out two black tubes in each hand, crossing them over and two glowing red swords appeared before her.

"You've got lightsabers?" Bill breathed, glancing at her. She didn't expect Marcella to have ever seen Star War yet along have the weapons from the movies.

"Plasmaswords." She huffed.

"Bill, put the gun down." The Doctor instructed gently, "Star, dagger away. Marcella, seriously?" He gaped at her. Star said Marcella had extra weapons than she herself but he always assume it was just her powerful kicks, not that she had a pair of plasmaswords ready to use.

"Slice through Dalekanium in under 70 seconds."

"I'm serious, Doctor." Bill said, her hands shaking as she held the gun steady, aimed at him, "We'll think of something else. But you'd better tell me now, because if you help the Monks, then nothing will ever stop them. They'll be here for ever."

"It's not a trick," he shook his head, "it's not a plan. I have joined the Monks. Whatever it takes, I'm going to save you from yourselves."

Bill fired at his words, shooting 5 times sending him to his knees, clutching his chest.

"Bill!" Star cried, staring in horror.

"I'm not sorry..." she breathed, her gaze held on the dagger to her neck, waiting for the attack as an orange glow began to surround his hand as he got back to his feet, crying out as the glow surrounded him before quickly disappearing and clapping his hands together, grinning.

"Good girl! Regeneration a little bit too much?"

"Yeah no sh..." Star glared, whacking him.

"Ah!"

"You didn't tell me that!" Star rounded on Marcella, the latter switching her blades off and pocketing them again.

"I didn't know!" She defended, whacking the Doctor over the head herself, "idiot! And you..." she turned to the guard closest to her, "asking for our papers was not the plan."

"I couldn't resist it." He laughed, "Your faces..." He quickly sobered at the look Marcella gave him, "sorry."

"Er, hello?" Bill cut in, not impressed with having shot the Doctor but he was still alive, and then there was the laughing guards. "Could somebody tell me what the hell is going on?"

"You did it." The Doctor grinned, cupping her face in his hands, "You did it! The Monks are using some kind of, you know, something, to control the population. They must be, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to hold on to power for this long. Now, they don't trust me yet, not completely, and I had to just check that you weren't under the influence and testing me."

"So you...you haven't...you haven't turned. You're not working for them."

"No, of course not. I've spent the last six months planning, and also recruiting all these chaps. Deprogramming them one by one, talking some sense into them. And there's loads of them. I could do with a Strepsil. Thank you." He caught one as Star tossed him one only to spit it out again as she smirked, "not a strepsil."

"You're so..." Star glared out her nostrils in unspoken anger, "no wonder so many want you dead. Don't do that! I don't want to see you die again!"

"I know. Ok," he pulled her into a tight hug, "I'm sorry. That was too far. I should have told you. I'm sorry. You're not going to stab me are you?"

"Tempting." She murmured into his chest.

"But I shot you!" Bill exclaimed. How the heck did he survive 5 shots?

"Yes, well, that was the plan, you see?" The Doctor grinned over at her, arms still round Star as he waited for her to pull back first. He was starting to think she was trying to suffocating him, slowly tightening the hug as he breathed. Oops. "Everyone exchanged their ammo for blanks." One of the guards coughed and looked sheepish, "Did you forget, Dave? You forgot? Well, that would have really blown the plan, wouldn't it?"

"But you called the Monks."

"I called the kitchen. Oh, could you pop down and explain it to them?" He turned to a woman at the back of the group, "They're going to be really confused." She nodded and left.

"And you were in on this too?" Bill rounded on Marcella

"My plan." Marcella nodded, "not the death part though...that was all him."

"Thanks!" The Doctor squeaked as Star hugged him even tighter, "ok, point made. Can't breathe."

"Good." Star grumbled but eventually let go, still glaring at him.

"Oh my god I'm going to beat the shit out of you..." Bill rounded on Marcella only to stop as the swords came out again, crossing before the girl, "no no. We're good. Please don't kill me. God you're like some kind of Space Pirate."

"Star has tried to get me to wear the hat." Marcella agreed.

Star smirked, "only when we're alone though." She wiggled her eyebrows as Bills eyes widened at the thought. The reason she wore the hat only when it's the two of them.

"That's more information than i need."

"I've never worn the hat." Marcella argued.

Stars smirk widened, "not yet."

"Come on, we've got the band back together again." The Doctor cheered, "Now, lovely as it is to have you on board, literally and metaphorically, we're going to need some help."

"Er, who?" Marcella frowned. They didn't really had anyone they could go to get help.

"The only person I know almost as smart as me."

Star snorted, "almost?"

"As smart." He corrected, she raised an eyebrow, arms folding in disbelieve, "alright she's smarter."

"And she's so mad at you." She half-sang.

"Has it, um..." Marcella called hesitantly, "really come to that?"

"It's fine! It's not like you've ever spoken to her."

"I have actually." She glared as Star turned quizzically to her, "how do you think she got off Gallifrey?"

Star blinked. That made more sense. Of course Missy wouldn't have been able to get herself off Gallifrey alone. Of course she needed inside help. Such a shame Marcella managed to help get Missy off but failed with her resulting in her own banishment. Though, she supposed that was better, if she'd been caught with Missy the woman would have left her for dead. Friend or not.

~.~

They snuck back through the university, following Star to avoid the monks who were on guard of the site. Not that they were going to the Doctors office. They were heading down to the vault.

"Move into the containment field, please." The Doctor called, moving to open the vault doors, typing in a code, turning a key, before using a thumbprint scanner, set for both Star and the Doctor to get inside.

Star went through into the bigger in the inside room, quite empty with a bed, an armchair around a small coffee table, and in the middle of a raised platform a piano where Missy sat inside the hexagon containment field, unimpressed at being shoved in the field.

"Did you miss me?" Star grinned, flopping down on the steps just before the containment field, getting a 'harrumph' in return as the Doctor sank into the leather armchair, Marcella between him and Star, hands clasped behind her back, tense.

"But it's, it's just a woman..." Bill stared, pointing at Missy in shock. With the way they always mentioned about how they couldn't leave the vault unguarded she had not expected to enter to find a woman, a woman playing the piano. "God, the way you lot have been carrying on, I thought you had some kind of monster in here, or something!"

"We do." Marcella sighed.

"Bill, Missy," Star introduced, "Missy, Bill."

"Wait a sec." Bill frowned, "Why have you got a woman locked in a vault? Because even I think that's weird, and I've been attacked by a puddle."

"She's going cold turkey from being bad." The Doctor remarked. "I want to ask if you've had any dealings with the Monks before." She may not be able to go outside into the world but he knew she knew exactly what was happening outside. First because of course she'd see on the tv and also because Star had been nipping in over the past months. Which was nice of her to say the least. Good job someone did.

"Of course." Missy turned to look at them, "I've had adventures too. My whole life doesn't revolve around you, you know."

"Are you sure?" Star smirked, "because you're a big old stalker."

"Give an example."

"Headaches turning into paranoia because that 3W crap."

"Humph!"

She glanced back at Bill, "stalker."

"Did you defeat them?" Bill asked, still shocked that the Doctor had locked a woman up all because she used to be bad.

"I did." Missy agreed.

"How?"

"I preferred the other puppy."

"I'll punch you in the face." Star threatened. How dare she mentioned Clara just so simply like that. Did she not know Clara's death was partly her fault. She had been the one who told Star to create the hybrid, of course, neither expected it go to quite as far as it did but if she just kept quiet Clara would still be alive.

"I've got some requests." Missy turned to the Doctor, "I want some new books, some toys, like a particle accelerator, a 3-D printer and a pony."

"If she gets a pony I want one too." Star turned to him too, "actually I want a dragon."

"Mushu?" Marcella guessed.

"No wait...I want a morph."

"I don't think that thing actually exists."

"I don't think that you really grasp what's going on here." The Doctor muttered, "Nice people generally don't haggle over the fate of a planet."

"I once built a gun out of leaves." Missy countered, "Do you think I couldn't get through a door if I wanted to?"

"How?" Marcella asked, blinking at her question as Missy turned and smirked at her. "Seriously though. How?"

"Not. Telling. You."

"Will you show me?" Star tilted her head back to look at her, "please."

"Star!" The Doctor barked.

She tipped her head down again, "sorry."

Missy just rolled her eyes at them, "I'm here, all right? I'm engaging with the process."

"Yeah, we can, we can get those things for you." Bill nodded eagerly.

"C'est super. So, what have you got so far?"

"What have you two been talking about if you having been trying to stop the monks?" The Doctor frowned at them.

They both shared a look, "nothing." The answered innocently.

Bill gasped loudly, "that's your mother!" She could see the resemblance. They looked very much alike, both with dark hair and icy blue eyes that pierced into your soul.

"Godmother." Star corrected.

"Please," Missy scoffed, "she is far to irritating to be my child."

"Seriously?" Bill blinked, "But..." she gestured to the faces. They really did look alike.

"A mere coincidence." Star waved off. "I don't like her."

"Yes you do."

"You're the one who admitted you cared about me."

"They hold on to power by targeting the part of the brain specifically to do with memory and perception, correct?" The Doctor cut in, seeing Missy beginning to glare at Star, and with Stars back to the woman he dreaded to think what she was plotting against her, "Right?"

Missy shut the lid of the piano turning slowly as the Doctor paced around her, "Getting warm. Fingers tingling."

"But they target it with what exactly?" He asked as Missy shifted to sit on the piano following him, laying on her front, watching him, "How do they sustain it? How do their lies infiltrate the brains of billions? Is it some kind of airborne psychoactive?"

She shook her head, resting her head in her hands, crossing her ankles, "No, no, that's very cold, very cold."

"Something that's constantly being fed to the populace, constantly consolidating its hold. Is it in the water?"

"God, no." She exclaimed, "It's freezing, freezing. Absolutely freezing. Couldn't be colder. Very, very, chilly. So, so chilly. Oh, come on. I'm bored! You haven't been to see me in 6 months."

"What, you left her alone in here for 6 months?" Bill gasped at him, no wonder she had the natural resting bitch face.

"I was in prison for 6 month." He defended.

"I saw her!" Star grinned, "I came all the time."

"Actually, I would have rather been alone."

"Hey!"

"What's your excuse?" Bill turned to Marcella, "you escaped 1 month ago. Why did you come and see her?"

"Not my problem." She shrugged, "we just shared a mutual care about the same people."

"Who do you care about?"

She silently pointed at Star who smirked and waved.

She turned to Missy, "and who do you care about?" Only to be greeted with a silent stone cold glare, "ok..."

"Start at the beginning." Missy turned back to the Doctor, "How do they get a foothold on a planet?"

"Some idiot asks for their help." He replied.

"Well, not just any idiot. It has to be a properly consenting human mind. A pure request, one without agenda or ulterior motive."

"It's them. That person creates a psychic link, which forms an anchor that keeps the Monks in power. They're the lynchpin."

"Scalding," she smirked. "Ow."

"But the brainwaves of one person wouldn't be powerful enough to contain an entire planet." Marcella argued.

"The statues!" Star exclaimed, having seen far too many of them over the months, there was even one on the university's grounds, "As soon as they got here, the Monks put up statues in every town square, and every park, and every playground."

"You're on fire," Missy grinned, "you're literally on fire you're so caliente. That's Spanish for hot." She informed Bill.

"The statues are transmitters." The Doctor realised, "They boost the signal and beam it out all around the world."

"Boom! You've exploded." Missy exclaimed, "Now, all you have to do is find whoever opened the door to the Monks in the first place."

"Say I already have."

"Oh! Well then, you're sorted. Just kill them. That weakens the Monks' grip on the world."

"No, no. No, no, that can't be right," the Doctor shook his head. Bill was the link, Bill made the deal for his eye sight, if they were to get rid of the monks then they had to kill Bill, he couldn't do that, he wouldn't.

"There are planets that the Monks have ruled for thousands of years. It's passed on through the bloodline. Usually the lynchpin goes on to lead a normal life, have their own family, and the link is passed down through the generations."

"But the Monks must have worked that out. They've been doing this for millennia."

"Why? If the link is passed on, the Monks stay in charge, through, they think, their ruthlessness and efficiency. But if the lynchpin dies and the link isn't passed on, and the Monks get booted off the planet, well, they just chalk it up to experience." Missy shifted to sit down on the chair again, playing a soft tune in the piano.

"So when you defeated the Monks, that's how you did it?" Bill called walking closer much to the Doctors concern.

"Well, at this point, all that was left of the bloodline was a wee girl, and I just pushed her into a volcano..."

"It's me." Star stepped between them, "I'm the lynchpin."

Missy raised her eyebrows, looking at her, clearly not believing her but she wouldn't call her out on it, "you made a deal to save daddy's sight. So sweet." Missy pouted mockingly.

"So what's the alternative?"

"There isn't one. Sorry, honey."

Marcella walked over seeing Stars plan was to hopefully get an alternative way to defeat the monks other than killing Bill who was the real lynchpin but Missy didn't need to know what, "so Star has to die?"

"No." Missy rolled her eyes, "If you were just to die, everyone's false memories would have to fade, and that could take ages. It's actually better if you keep breathing, if your brain just keeps transmitting, well, nothing. That would blot out the residue false memories."

"What would be left?" Bill frowned.

"You'd be a husk. Completely and irrevocably brain-dead. You couldn't even get on Celebrity Love Island."

"Even if that was the truth," the Doctor narrowed his eyes at her, not quite sure if she knew that Star wasn't really the lynchpin or not. He never could tell with her, "the fact that you're suggesting it shows there's been no change, no hope, no point. We don't sacrifice people. It's wrong, because it's easy."

"You know, back in the day, I'd burn an entire city to the ground just to see the pretty shapes the smoke made. I'm sorry your plus one doesn't get a happy ending, but, like it or not, I just saved this world because I want to change. Your version of good is not absolute. It's vain, arrogant and sentimental. If you're waiting for me to become all that, I'm going to be here for a long time yet."

"Ok." The Doctor nodded, "we're done here."

~.~

The walked into the dark and blocked up empty building they were using as a secret HQ in the middle of the city close to where the monks pyramid ship was sat. Well, the Doctor seemed to be more stalking in a bad mood since leaving Missy again, the woman having gone straight back to the piano.

"Come on." Bill scoffed, "You knew she was going to say something like this. It's why you needed me back. You could have escaped from that ship like Marcella, with her. You could have started something to defeat the Monks without me."

"I wanted you back by my side because it's the safest place in the world." He answered.

"I asked the Monks for help and started all of this, so I have to be the one to finish it. The only downside is, if that's what we do, well, it's not worth me starting any long books."

"There is always another way," Star slumped down in the old sofa, "we just have to find it. Just because Missy said it ended in death doesn't necessarily mean that. She may not know another way herself."

"You said the safest place for me was by your side. That's what's protecting the Monks. It's why their plan works." She sat besides Star, folding her arms as the Doctor moved to the map of the city the guards had laid out where the pyramid was sat instead of St. Paul's.

"The Cathedral." The Doctor tapped the area, "The Monks' headquarters. Oh, yes. We're going to have to break in there."

"Why?"

"Somewhere in there, the Monks must have some kind of a machine that creates and broadcasts the myths of their history. The ones that are powered by, carried by, fed by your brainwaves. So, we get in, I plug myself into it, and replace the signals that they are receiving with my brainwaves and beam out the true history of the world. Oh, yes! I could even throw in some other stuff. The things that I could change just by thinking. Racism. People who talk in cinemas."

"Are you sure?" Bill eyed him, "This would be an incredibly sophisticated transmitter, powerful enough to beam highly detailed propaganda to the entire world twenty four hours a day, and you're going to plug your brain into it?"

"I know." He grinned, "It doesn't stand a chance."

Marcella turned to Star almost exasperated with him, but she just looked highly amused by his plan.

"We, you're all going to need this." The Doctor handed the humans a set of hand phones and small stereo, "Star," he snapped his fingers at her, "how many monks have you seen over the 6 months?"

"12." She answered.

"You see? Another way they hang on to power is to create a myth that they're here in greater numbers than they really are."

"The beam's stronger here, isn't it?" Bill murmured, rubbing her head, "I can almost hear it. It's so hard to hang on to any thought of life before the Monks."

"Yes, and it's going to get stronger the closer we get to the transmitter. The lies are going to become more convincing. You'll want to turn around. You won't know what you're doing here or why you're working against the Monks. Now, have you all got your stereo headphone iThing?"

"Yeah. What are they for?" Bill frowned.

"Ah, this is where you come in."

~.~

They moved out of the building heading towards the pyramid, the humans each wearing their headset with Bills recording repeating, blocking out the monks transmitter, reminding them that the monks were not their friends and had only been in earth for a few months, not their entire history.

They snuck through the dark pyramid, torches on guns as the monks tried to stop them reaching any further, the men fired at the monks, headphones on as they made their way to the simulation chamber, trying to get the door open when one man aimed his gun at the Doctors head, his head set been shot at, allowing the monks to mess with his mind.

"You tricked us." The man glared, "You tried to make us believe the Monks were invaders. How could you say that? They've always been here. You know that. The Monks are our friends. I won't let you hurt them. I'll die first. I'll kill you first." He pulled down in the tugged only to crumble to the ground revealing Marcella standing behind him, holding up her thumb and forefinger.

"Tarovian Neck Pinch." She offered to their stares.

"Marcella!" Star laughed, "where'd you learn that."

"i read a lot."

"This is why were friends!" She he'd up her first as Marcella did the same, bumping them together and pulling back opening their hands like an explosion as Marcella looked at her, bemused by the action she always insisted on.

"Anyway," the Doctor soniced the door open and the rest of the man walked through into the next room showing screen of the monks with various people in history, including Churchhill, Einstein and Martin Luther King Jr, a monk in black robes sat in a hair in the middle, head slightly lowered with its hands rested in two columns of white cables, a metal circlet over its head.

"Fake News Central." The Doctor remarked.

Bill hesitantly removed her headphones frowning, "I can think. They're not in my head. Why is that?"

"We're in the eye of the storm. Guard the doors. We can't be interrupted."

A few of the guards moved back outside, weapons reading in case any monks arrived.

"Hello?" Star waved a hand before the seat monk, "boo!" It didn't react even as Bill jumped, "alright he's out. Let's do this." She stepped back as the Doctors stepped out, grabbing the monks heads as the metal flowed white and the images changed, the monks disappearing from history.

"It's working!" Bill cheered, "The Monks are disappearing!"

"Oh, I didn't agree to this." The Doctor grumbled, a suddenly burst of energy causing him to let go.

"What's happening?"

"He's fighting back. He's blocking me, countering every move." He grabbed the head again, grimacing through the pain as the columns flowed red, along with the Doctors eyes as he thought the pain.

"You have you try harder!" Marcella called as the monks repeated back in the pictures.

The Doctor set his jaw only to be violently thrown back with a cry.

"Dad!" Star was by his unconscious side in an instant.

"Doctor!" Bill gasped quickly following, "is he alright?"

Star quickly checked him over, "just knocked out."

"Are you serious having a go yourself?" Bill gaped at Marcella as she stepped up to the monk.

"Well I have a higher pain intolerance to him." She defended, setting her hands firmly on the monks head, eyes shut.

"Mars, please..." Star looked back at her. This was really something she and the Doctor would do, not Marcella, it was stupid and risky and unsafe and so unlike Marcella. But yet because she wasn't leaving daddy's side Marcella stepped up to try and save Bill. Seems Marcella did like the odd few humans.

"This is all under control." Marcella grit out.

"It's working!" Bill grinned as the monks disappeared from the images again.

Only for Marcella to be thrown back as well, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"Mars!" Star moved to her side, brushing a piece of hair back as she comforting her prone form. She wasn't gone of course, just knocked out herself.

"Or not..." Bill muttered. "Alright then." She took a breath. Seemed that the only way to stop the monks was as Missy said and kill the lynchpin. Her.

~.~

The Doctor awoke with a start, finding himself propped against the wall, chained up. Handcuffs. There was always handcuffs involved.

"I wanted to do it before you woke up." Bill smiled sadly, "But I had to say goodbye."

"Bill," he tugged on the cuffs, "whatever you're planning, there's no need for this. Let me try again. He caught me unaware. Cup of tea and I'll get my second wind."

"Even your brain couldn't stand another roasting like that. Marcella lasted longer than you," she jerks her head back to where Star hadn't moved from Marcella's side waiting for her to awaken, holding her hand for comfort when she did, "look at her."

"So we'll find another way. Let me talk to Missy again."

"We have the answer. Doctor, please. I don't want our last conversation to be this."

"I don't want this to be our last conversation." He countered.

"Goodbye, Doctor." She kissed his cheek, "Thank you. God, it was worth it."

"Bill. Bill, no, don't, Bill. Bill, Bill. It will kill you, Bill. It's too powerful. Bill, I, I order you! Star!" He yelled as Bill hugged her from the back, Star twisting and kissing her cheek, "I'm ordering you not to do this! Bill! Star, untie me! Star, untie me now! Leave Marcella a moment and untie me!" Bill moved to stand behind the monk, "Bill, don't do this!"

"Okay." Bill took a shaky breath to calm her nerves, "I don't usually let someone erase my brain on the first date, but seeing as it's you."

"No!" The Doctor cried, "No!" The images changed ago, showing Bill this time, "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no! They're hijacking her memories, infecting them like a virus. She's just reinforcing their lies. She's dying for nothing!" He scrambled over to the chair as far as he could, "Star for gods sake leave her a moment, she's fine! Help me try and shut this thing down!"

A soft smile appeared on Bills face, "Hello, Mum." The images changed ago, this time showing the face of Bills mother.

"Er, Bills imaginary friend is her mother." Star informed the Doctor.

"Oh, you clever, brilliant, ridiculous girl." He breathed, "Look at that! All the pictures we gave you. I thought we was just being kind, but we were saving the world. Bill, if there's any of you left in there, listen. You have to keep thinking about your mum, the memory you created. Her voice, her smile. The Monks can't get near it. Fill your mind with it! Push it into every corner." Bills smile widened as she remembered everything she knew and imagined off her mother, "She's filling its mind with one pure, uncorrupted, irresistible image. And it's broadcasting it to the world, because it can't help it. All those years you kept her alive inside you, an isolated subroutine in a living mind. Perfect, untouchable. She's a window on the world without the Monks. Absolutely loved, absolutely trusted. And that window is opening everywhere. A glimpse of freedom. But a glimpse is all you need. The lie is breaking. Bill's mum, you just went viral!"

Marcella groaned as she awoke. "Why did you let me do that?"

"Why'd you do it in the first place?" Star countered, helping back to her feet.

"So you wouldn't." She rubbed her head.

"Don't rub unless you want to go bald," Star warned, lowering Marcella hand and holding it to stop her rubbing her head, "and even that was too stupid for me to do. No offence." She added to the Doctor.

"You did it!" The Doctor cheered, cupping Bills face in his hands as she blinked, unfocused, "You broke the signal."

"Should we leave?" Star called, "before the monks leave."

"Because they will realising they've lost." Marcella nodded.

"Yeah, good point." The Doctor agreed, taking Bills hand as they ran back out of the pyramid, watching as it took to the Sky.

~.~

The group sat on the steps of a now destroyed monk statue, all that was remaining was the Truth logo and the bottom of the robes as they sat, Bill and the Doctor sharing a cup of tea in a flask.

"This is exciting, isn't it?" Bill grinned, "You know, kind of, it's like a turning point. Humans have learned that they can overthrow dictators and stuff, they just have to band together."

"Well, it's not quite as simple as that." The Doctor shrugged calling to a passing student with a frizzy ponytail, "You, Appalling Hair. This thing that we're sitting on. What is it?"

She looked up from her phone, "Er, we thought they were just like filming something here or something?"

"Thank you. Very helpful. Now go away, or something. You see? The Monks have erased themselves. Humanity's doomed to never learn from its mistakes."

"Well, I guess that's part of our charm." Bill smiled.

"It's really quite annoying." Marcella muttered.

"Anyway, I mustn't keep you. 3 thousand words. The Mechanics of Free Will. Now 6 months overdue." He took back the lid of the flask Bill was drinking from and screwed the lid together.

"Why do you put up with us then?"

"Because out of the billions of humans in this planet there is someone like you." Star nudged her.

"Did you just manage to insult the human race while compliment one person?" Marcella asked in disbelieve.

"Now that is part of my charm. Pizza?" She asked, glancing at the Doctor.

"Pizza." He agreed, heading off as Star and Marcella went to get the food for tonight.

~.~

"There!" Star pointed at the man in red and white as she eagerly tapped the page of the Where's Wally book as they all sat in the vault that evening. The pizza finished. Missy and the Doctor taking the armchairs, the woman out of the containment field now that Bill wasn't there. Marcella on the floor reading her own book as Star leaned over the Doctors shoulder at his book. "He's only in books with him on the cover."

He scoffed, "just because you haven't found him..."

"He's only in Where's Wally books Doctor," Marcella informed him, her eyes still on her book, "that's why it's a where's Wally book."

"I keep remembering all the people I've killed." Missy murmured looking into the electric fire burning besides her, "Every day I think of more. Being bad..." she swallowed, not looking at any of them, "being bad drowned that out. I didn't know I even knew their names." She turned to the Doctor and you could see the tears beginning to fall, "You didn't tell me about this bit."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "but this is good."

She turned back away from them not wanting them to judge her for crying, "ok."

"If you're that desperate not to cry in front of anyone use that." Marcella threw a tissue at the woman, not even looking up as Missy took it to wipe her eyes.

She didn't quite believe the woman when she said she was trying to be good. Then she only knew of the stories about her and what she had done in the last. And she had been locked up in the vault for 50 years stuck only to talk to the Doctor and Star as well as watch earth to. She was probably trying just to get out of the vault. For all any of them knew the tears were just a little act to make them believe she was trying to be good and then boom! She'd betray them.


End file.
